Twilight Rangers
by Zaila
Summary: What if, in the Twilight world, there had been more supernatural races? Namely the Fei? Now they exist, and the twin Fei Rangers who befriend Bella might possibly stir up all new enemies... First solo fanfic, it's just Jaimie this time :D
1. Nice to Meet You

**DISCAIMER: as much as I wish I was, I am NOT Stephenie Meyer, and I own nothing from this story except the Fei and the plot twists.**

**Summary: What if, in the Twilight world, there had been another supernatural race? Namely the Fei? Now they exist, and the twin Fei Guards who befriend Bella might possibly stir up all new enemies… Begins Bella's first day of school, from the Fei's POV's**

**.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.**

"HUNTER!!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, "WHERE THE HELL IS MY JOURNAL?!?!"

My twin brother's most evil laugh floated down the hallway, the same laugh he used to intimidate our suspects into confessing. The small black leather-bound book that was my journal came swooping through, inches from the ceiling. I sighed and plucked it out of the air, noting thankfully that the bespelled lock was still intact.

"Couldn't get the damned thing open" Hunter complained by my side. I jumped and cursed him for his incredibly silent movements, so low I had to concentrate for even my extremely acute Ranger's hearing to register it.

Yeah, I said Ranger.

I, Sage Ward, and my identical/fraternal twin brother, Hunter, are Rangers; we protect the earth (as well as the other realms, but that's another story) from the corrupt supernatural. We were on leave right now as reward for busting a huge Leprechaun bank heist team, they had hit twenty major banks all over the world before we'd caught up.

Rangers themselves are a bit supernatural, if you hadn't already guessed. All of us are descended from a coupling of the Vampire Father and the Fairy Mother, millennia ago. Every one of us had senses to rival those of a vampire, with very nearly the speed and strength, as well as less of a need for sleep and sustenance; but still have beating hearts and warm, soft bodies.

All Rangers have a connection to the five elements; air, fire, water, earth, and psyche. Many have rudimentary magic skills, but there are very few as powerful as my brother and I. our magic is still simple, but our elemental abilities are the strongest recorded, a result of having the King of the Fei and the Chief Ranger as parents.

As Hunter doubled over laughing, my hand shot out and grabbed a handful of his shaggy, midnight hair.

"I _will_ burn it off…" I threatened. He immediately quieted; he was obsessed with his stupid hair. My own raven-colored locks were secured into a low ponytail that hung to my waist, glossy and smooth thanks to my straightener. His head shot up and his emerald eyes narrowed menacingly at me.

"You wouldn't _DARE_" he hissed. I shrugged and allowed a small golden flame to dance along my palm, lacing between my fingers once in a while.

"Care to stake your hair on it?"

He gulped and grinned, my hand had suddenly gone numb and slid from his hair. He clicked his tongue and made pointed at me with both hands, then rushed away to finish the incredibly simple homework we had been assigned on Friday. We had an hour till school started, another tedious day. It was nice to be normal, but the homework was a pain in the ass. Thank Father we only sleep three hours. I raced to our room, right on my brother's tail. The tiny house we'd bought had only one bedroom, one bathroom, a kitchen, and a sitting room; the one we grew up was more of a castle.

My stocking-ed feet skidded on the dark hardwood as I turned into the bedroom, the comforting scents of pine and fresh dirt wafting to me. the forest green carpet squished beneath my feet, and the black and green walls swirled around me. I fell onto the queen-sized bed against the far wall, running my fingers over the matte black, wrought iron vines; the black and green quilt; the green jersey-knit sheets. The pillows had wolves and other animals embroidered on them, courtesy of dear old dad's second wife.

Hunter came and laid down beside me, looking concerned.

When he asked me what the matter was, I simply said "it's another school day…what else can I say? At least _you_ have a girlfriend." I punctuated this with a poke that landed right on his sternum. He chuckled t my pouting face.

_Any one of those guys would go out with you in a heartbeat. _Damn twin telepathy…he must've heard me wallowing in my single, friendless nature. He nodded.

_It's pathetic that my thoughts aren't even private._ I sent him an image of a door closing, then blocked my mind, rolling off the bed to drown my misery in some internet-surfing on my high-tech laptop.

**.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.**

**A/N: So how'd you like it? I'll update as regularly as I can, and constructive criticism/plot ideas are most welcome!!**

**Quote: "Did you know Europe's in Asia?" –A friend of mine**

**Fact: the man who was the voice of Bugs Bunny was allergic to carrots. **


	2. Just Another School Day, Right?

**DISCAIMER: as much as I wish I was, I am NOT Stephenie Meyer, and I own nothing from this story except the Fei and the plot twists.**

**Summary: What if, in the Twilight world, there had been another supernatural race? Namely the Fei? Now they exist, and the twin Fei Guards who befriend Bella might possibly stir up all new enemies… Begins Bella's first day of school, from the Fei's POV's**

**.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.**

My black LG Chocolate buzzed on the table next to me, a reminder to stop fooling around and get to school blaring from the tiny speakers. Hunter groaned and looked up from his own laptop, slamming the lid before I could catch a glimpse of what he had been doing.

"Come on, let's get going. Want to run?" we lived not too far from the school, so it was feasible to the humans that we, the two most athletic kids in the class (or at least of those who still had a heartbeat), could travel the close-to-two-mile distance daily, there and back. I grinned and leapt up.

"You bet your ass I do." We laced our shoes, my hi-tops thing a bit longer than his straight-laced vans. He wound up leaning against the doorframe with a jokingly impatient expression as I finished tying, and then raced past him. His eerily silent footsteps followed close behind mine, the sound disappearing utterly as we hit the grass. I slipped one earphone of my green mp3 (guess what my favorite color is?) into my ear mid-sprint, turned it to shuffle, and let the walls around my mind crumble so he could hear the music, too. There were definitely advantages to the whole twin telepathy thing.

Silent agreement registered with me and I realized he'd heard all my thoughts.

I sent him an image of the small, rugged path we'd discovered, pairing it with a questioning feeling. He nodded once and I sped to our record speed, the tree line coming up quickly ahead of us. We neared the large river that ran near the edge and my foot automatically landed on the sturdiest rock, at a precise angle. A push off of said stone and leg sent me flying through the air, hands out in front of me to help my midair form. My hands came down sharply as my arc reached its' peak, sending me spinning 180 degrees and allowing to land solidly on my feet. I grinned and took off again, concentrating on Hunter's mind for a minute to pinpoint his location. He turned out to be about ten yards ahead, and off to the left. I chirped a signal both of us had learned in training, telling him to rendezvous with me up ahead. He twittered back that he was slowing, and I smiled.

"Thanks, Bro." I said, stepping off the trail and leaping into the nearest tree. "Now follow me." My muscles bunched, and I shot off, springing from branch to branch in a way that I had been doing since I was a child. The branch behind me rustled, and I dropped through a hole in the branches, hearing Hunter chuckle from behind me

"My sister, the monkey." He mimed a monkey eating a banana, and I laughed. My fingers brushed against the numerous piercings in my pointed ear as I swept back a loose strand of hair, and I fingered my Ranger's eye necklace, a eye with an iris that matched the owner's, surrounded by silver spikes that made it sun-like in appearance. Hunter had one, too, tucked under his shirt.

Speaking of which, where'd he go? I whirled around in a small circle, and heard a stifled laugh off to my left. Springing toward the sound, I shoved hunter into a tree.

"Very funny, Bro." I released him and stepped back, walking toward school. The trees thinned, then thinned some more, and finally I was out. Forks High sprawled before me, the brick buildings looking more like houses than a school. The smell of vampire drifted to me on the breeze, and my eyes locked on the Cullens getting out of Edward's Volvo.

Across the lot, I heard an engine's thunderous roar. My head whipped round to pinpoint the source, just as it cut off. An average sized girl with a full head of mahogany hair slid from the front seat and stumbled, barely catching herself on the doorknob. I half-darted over to help her, but caught myself. It'd be suspicious if I had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. The girl's cheeks flushed, and she trained her chocolate eyes on the ground, moving toward the front office. When the door shut behind her, my stupor vanished. What _was_ that?

Hunter came up behind me and waved a hand in my face. "Heloooo…" when I didn't respond, he grabbed my shoulders and spun me to face him. "Earth to Sage, it's your brother calling."

I shook myself. "Sorry." My lips split into a grin of their own accord. "I just remembered, Mr. Mason wanted me to come in early."

"Why? He want to ask you out again?"

"You know he never did in the first place!" I smacked his arm and he grinned back at me.

"C'mon, Sage, at least say goodbye!"

"Goodbye." I hugged him and left, making it to the classroom before anyone could stop me again. Mr. Mason heard my deliberately audible footsteps as I entered the classroom and ran a hand over his balding head. He stuttered out a greeting, and I smiled. I tended to make people nervous, what with being almost 6 feet tall with my shoes on; my thick, semi-gothic makeup; my almost completely black, grey, and green wardrobe; and my multiple piercings.

I slid into my desk and fiddled with my hair as he shuffled his papers. "You said you wanted to talk to me?"

"oh, yes, I was wondering…you're the most responsible person in the class, why did you not turn in the Dickenson essay? Th severely impacted your grade…you now have a B-, rather than your previous A+. I was thinking about maybe offering you some extra credit, as well…"

Oops…that was the week I had just gotten here, when Chief called me in after school every day to debrief on the leprechaun scandal. I wanted to say that I had been too busy with top secret assignments, but what I actually said was "Sorry, must've slipped my mind. The extra credit sounds good, though."

"Alright, just don't miss any more assignments. There's an author coming to speak in a Seattle bookstore, and if you take some notes on it and give them to me next Monday, I'll give you 30 points of extra credit." The bell punctuated his statement quite nicely, signaling the start of passing period. people started to trickle in, hanging their raincoats alongside my black one. The brown haired girl came into the room, and I started. The handed Mr. Mason her slip and rushed to her seat in the back as soon as humanly possible. I reached out a tendril of my consciousness and felt at her mind, surprised to find it surrounded by a thin, but impenetrable, barrier that only let me catch the faintest sense of her emotions. She glanced up and scanned the room, no doubt looking for the source of her 'being watched' feeling. Hunter came in the room just as the bell rang, sliding into the desk next to mine.

_Who is that girl behind you?_ He thought at me, accompanied by her picture.

_No idea._ Her scent wafted to me as she shook out her hair. _ She smells incredible, though._

_Yeah, kind of like freesia…_ he inhaled deeply, covering it to make it look like a sigh. _Yum._

I chuckled under my breath and one side of his mouth twitched upward.

"Sage!" Mr. Mason called, "As a review: What is Iambic Pentameter and how is it used in Shakespearian texts?" I proceeded to reply, plucking the answer from his mind. He started as he realized I'd been correct, and turned to the board, continuing his lecture. I let my mind wander and wound up dissecting the Girl's scent. She smelled somewhat like freesia, yes, but there were also undercurrents of other scents. There was some Rose, Morning Glory, Butterscotch, and the tiniest hint of vampire. One scent escaped my memory though, the one scent that made me feel protective as it registered in my brain.

_It's probably a hormone._ I thought, sighing. Hunter chuckled beside me. _What? You have a better idea?_

_Actually, I was thinking it might be her soulsmell. _

_Of _course_! Why didn't I think of that?_ A soulsmell was the scent of someone's – you guessed it – soul. It showed their personality and their destiny, there were professionals who would dissect a soulsmell for someone. I ventured to guess that her clumsiness and something else (a want to trust, perhaps?) led to the endearing quality of hers.

The Klaxon sounded, and I jumped. In my defense, so did Hunter. We rose as one, perfectly synchronized, and glided out the door. I caught the beginning of the Girl and Eric's conversation before I focused on the hallway chatter. _Bella, huh? It fits, she _**is**_ rather pretty._ Hunter put his arm over my shoulder and sent me feelings of happiness, we had Arts next. Hunter slid into his chair at our station, pulling out his project-in-progress and handing me mine. I thanked him and went to get a smock – I was painting a still life of my second family, my Training Team. I had one of the twelve of us drawn and painted, my closest friend in the group, Ava. Her coffee colored skin warred with her ice blue eyes and copper hair. I tied the smock tightly around me, the long string going around thrice. I quickly made up a palette and grabbed a brush set, telling myself I'd paint in Hunter today.

I was putting the finishing touches in his hair when the bell rang again. The real Hunter put his woodcarving aside and cleaned up, as I reluctantly did the same. The next two classes, history with Hunter and Math without him, passed in a flash and it was time for lunch. Hunter met me outside the math classroom and we headed to the cafeteria.

**.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.**

**A/N: this chapter's longer than the last cause I couldn't post yesterday, I was at my dad's and he doesn't have internet. ******

**please please please tell me what you think *puppy dog face and crocodile tears* …please?**

**Oh! I'm looking for a beta, too. Review to this story or PM me if ur interested!**

**Quote: "Shut up, brain, or I'll stab you with a Q-tip!" - Unknown**


	3. This CAN'T be good

**DISCAIMER: as much as I wish I was, I am NOT Stephenie Meyer, and I own nothing from this story except the Fei and the plot twists.**

**Summary: What if, in the Twilight world, there had been another supernatural race? Namely the Fei? Now they exist, and the twin Fei Guards who befriend Bella might possibly stir up all new enemies… Begins Bella's first day of school, from the Fei's POV's**

**.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.**

_No._ This can't be happening. How could Bella be falling in love with him, when she had never spoken to him?!?! I practically sprinted to the table that Hunter had claimed and threw a tendril at his mental defenses. It surprised him so greatly that I was able to punch through the sturdy barriers as easily as a wet tissue.

_Bella is falling in love with Edward!!_ I silently shouted.

An image of him rolling his eyes filled my mind, and I heard _And that concerns us how?_

_Duh! What happens when she makes a move on him? When he mutilates her body and sucks her soul through her neck?!?!_

_Oh, that _would _be a problem. _

_No Shit, Sherlock._

_Well, what do we do? We can't tell him, because then he'd know what we are._

_I don't KNOW! _ I realized both of our mental shields were completely down. _Crap. Shields up. Hope he didn't hear that. _

Hunter's head shot up and he watched little Alice dance cross the room to the trash cans. Just like that, the real world came rushing back in. Lita tugged on Hunter's sleeve and he turned to her, murmuring a hurried explanation that I was just trying to scare them for kicks.

"You caught me." I forced a fake laugh, but eyed hunter meaningfully. He knew I wasn't going to drop this. He felt the fear I felt as I noticed my building protectiveness of Bella, though again I had never spoken to her. I needed to remember to talk to Chief about this.

The bell sounded again and we moved through the halls. Bella was just ahead of us, and I moved to introduce myself and Hunter. Angela smiled shyly at us and faced forward again

"Isabella, right?" I asked, though I already knew.

"Bella, actually."

"Ah, ok. My name is Sage Ward, and this is my twin brother Hunter." Lita gave me an annoyed look. "Oh, yeah, and Shorty here is Hunter's girlfriend, Belita."

"Just Lita to my friends." She smiled her charming smile at Bella, who seemed thrown. The doorway to the Biology classroom loomed up ahead, and all of us entered, with the exception of Lita. She kissed Hunter goodbye quickly and left to the echo of someone shouting "PDA!" Hunter chuckled and walked with me to our seats, the very back row, second from the left. Bella went to talk to Mr. Banner, and as she passed Edward, he stiffened. I poked at his mind as quickly as I could, and as soon as our minds touched, I felt the incredible desire- no, the _NEED-_he had to slice open her throat with his razor sharp teeth and suck her dry.

"Shit." I whispered, and Hunter nudged me. "She's his _tua la cantante."_

"Shit." He echoed. "Not good."

We watched carefully as Bella went back to her seat, as he scooted his chair and self as far as he possibly could from her, as his fingers broke through the bar between the stool's legs that he had been gripping, and finally as he seemed to steel himself and instead lost himself in thought. I was tempted to touch his mind again, but I knew he would most likely feel my touch…and he was most likely plotting to kill sweet, innocent Bella. If I heard him think that, I knew I wouldn't be able to restrain myself. I'd go flying over the lab table and burn him to a crisp before I realized what I was doing. This would expose the both of us, and my brother…_and, _I admitted my second reason _it would hurt Bella._

_This is going too far, Sage._ I told myself. _This won't bring anything but pain._ Bella sniffed her hair and knocked it over her shoulder, making me want to jump up and scream 'NO, you idiot, that just makes him want to kill you _MORE!'_ but I didn't…barely.

Hunter patted my hand where it sat, clenched, on my lap. "Don't do anything rash, Sage. We don't know he's actually going to hurt her. We think," he amended, seeing my incredulous look, "but we're not positive."

I sighed, sensing that he was right. If I attacked now, not only would it be irrational, it would be deadly. I just couldn't shake the feeling of protectiveness I felt for her, almost an instinct to mother her. I decided to settle for being her best friend. Tomorrow, I would definitely make my move, maybe even ask her to visit our house…somewhere no one but hunter and I knew the location of, as a precaution.

Hunter glanced at me out of the corner of his eye and I saw it roll, as I was still tense. I felt the familiar touch of hunter's mind against my own, and I let him in.

_What's up with you? Bella's just another human. A vampire's _cantante,_ but still just a human._ Hunter sounded exasperated and confused

_Honestly, I don't know. I feel…_I pulled up my feelings from moments ago.

_Wow. Well. Um…that's…interesting…_

_I'd say._

Just then, the bell rang. Before the echoing of the bell died, Edward was up and out the door. I marveled that he would be so foolish as to let his façade drop so completely. He must have been incredibly close to losing control. Hunter and I rose, heading to the gym for our final class. As I slipped out of the locker room, I saw Bella sitting on the bleachers. _Again?_ I sent to Hunter.

_Yup. It's kinda weird, huh? _

_Definitely._

Hunter shot me a sympathetic look from across the gym, where he was with his volleyball team. I consulted with my own, and Coach Clapp came to assign us our opponents. My team was versing Hunter's. Great. We filed over to the other side of Hunter's court, and I cracked all of my knuckles loudly. Twice. Hunter laughed, but the rest of his team – and mine – paled. Hunter rolled his neck, cracking it loudly, and I stuck my tongue out at him.

Forty minutes later, both teams battered, Hunter's team emerged victorious, 2-1. He beat me home, too, but let me have the shower before him, a big gesture on his part since he worried about what the sweat was doing to his hair (EW!). I got out and did my homework, employing my vampire-like speed, finishing in about ten minutes. I straightened my now mostly dry, naturally wavy hair and wrapped it in a bun atop my head, also changing from my ripped jeans and tank top to a more comfortable nightgown, black of course, made of silk. Chief Miranda and King Sylvain, as I thought of them – I was supposed to call them that in public, though they insisted we call them Mom and Dad in private – gave the two of us gifts rather constantly, for the most random reasons. I had gotten a camera when I got my first test and a stuffed rabbit for my first date (who later ran off screaming).

Hunter came in then; his hair was still wet, and closed himself in the closet to change.

"Come out of the closet already!" I shouted, not noticing the double meaning until the words were already out of my mouth. He stormed out, dressed only in green-and-black boxers covered in hearts (last year's gift from King Sylvain's third wife), and stared at me. I probed his mind, only to find it thickly shielded.

"I'm so sorry, Hunter. I only meant literally to open the door to the closet and rejoin me in this room, not the other way." He relaxed and breathed a sigh of relief, but kept his mind closely guarded. I thought it a bit odd, but let it slide, thinking that he was embarrassed. The sheets hissed as he slid in, pulling me to his chest and sending me quickly to sleep.

**.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.**

**A/N: this is rather late for today…but also long. I hope it kinda balances out…as always, review, plz.**

**Quote: "Christmas is the one time a year we sit around a dead tree and eat from our socks" - unknown**

**Fact: a lizard's tongue is attached to the roof of its mouth, not the bottom.**


	4. youz my best Frann :D

**DISCAIMER: as much as I wish I was, I am NOT Stephenie Meyer, and I own nothing from this story except the Fei and the plot twists.**

**Summary: What if, in the Twilight world, there had been another supernatural race? Namely the Fei? Now they exist, and the twin Fei Guards who befriend Bella might possibly stir up all new enemies… Begins Bella's first day of school, from the Fei's POV's**

**.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.**

_The cloaked figures closed in on me and I broke out in a cold sweat. One of the La Push wolves stood by my side and growled quietly, he was immense. My head brushed the middle of his lower leg as he shifted to a more protective position. I wanted to tell him to get out of the way, to let me fight, but I realized something. The cloaked figures stood high above my head, making me feel I had shrunk. I reached for the shorter katana I kept strapped to my back and encountered nothing but rough fabric and thick, curly hair. Wait, _CURLY?!_ I looked down at myself and found that I was wearing a girly pink dress, something I would never be caught dead in. my skin shimmered slightly in the light where the sun touched it, and it shocked me. It was definitely vampiric, though a Ranger's skin didn't sparkle. I crumbled my barriers and heard…nothing. What the hell? I heard a low, feral snarl from behind me, and whirled to see Edward staring not at me, but at the approaching Volturi. his skin sparkled violently in the morning sun, as well as that of the some thirty vamps behind him. Just behind him, right next to me, was a vampire that liked impossibly familiar. She looked almost like Bella. _

My eyes flew open and I heard Hunter murmur my name.

"Hmmm?" I asked sleepily.

"Donduit Sage, hezuh unicorn…" I chuckled quietly and rolled over, peering at the clock. 2:16. I sighed and slipped out of the bed, now that it was full dark I could go out. I slipped into my currently deep emerald cat suit, the one I wore to fight. It was fireproof, waterproof, bulletproof, smooth, and breathed like cotton. It left the wielding concentrators on my palms uncovered, which allowed me greater control of the elements. The soles of my feet were well protected by almost an inch of steel, ceramic, and rubber layers that left a tiny circle around the center of the ball of my foot open so that the concentrators there could function also. I pulled the hood up and over my hair and face, feeling it mold itself perfectly to my head and split where it figured my eyes to be. I prodded it a bit to increase my visibility, then slipped out the window.

The smartskin material of the suit was actually an independent organism, one that reacted to thought waves transmitted from rangers or any other telepath. As soon as I thought how convenient it would be to have a thicker area to ward off the slight chill, the suit thickened by forming tiny, insulating air bubbles. I hurtled into the trees and the suit writhed, turning a mottled color to break up my shape. I skidded into Hunter's and my practice clearing, feeling the suit attempt to send grip spikes into the granite. The resulting screech lasted but a second before a sharp thought retracted the spikes and let the rubber soles grip the smooth stone instead. I charred the debris from the flat, deep red stone and washed the ash off with a quick summoning of water and air. I acknowledged the Father and Mother before beginning to run through my fighting moves. _Right foot crouch, sweep kick to pillar, roll, launch to standing, roundhouse, snap, side, punch, uppercut, blocks, jab, neck chop, horse-stance. Repeat with left. _ I said the words in my head as I went through the moves, without elements. I repeated the entire sequence with all five elements, surrounding my hands and feet and sending a jet with a punch or kick. Again from the beginning…and again…and again…faster and faster until I was a blur of black and elements. I finally came to a standstill about a half an hour later, my chest heaving and my head pounding. I lay down and pushed my feet straight up into the air, propping my hips up with my hands and arms and forming a candlestick. I touched my feet to the ground over my head, then my head itself. I stretched in every way humanly possible, and a few not. When I finished, I took a runner's stance against a tree and lunched myself as far as I could, just over the treetops.

I spied the landing tree and realized I'd launched myself too far to the left. Way too far. When the tree was still some 40 yards away, I ordered my suit to send out flight ridges, raised vertical stripes designed to enable us to 'steer' through the air. I urged the wind to gust toward me, pushing me back on course with the help of a quick twist of my body. I grabbed the branch that was worn smooth from our use, near the top of the gigantic tree. I swung onto the balls of my feet atop the branch and sat, enjoying the view. I sat there until the moon began to fade, until my instincts told me dawn was just over an hour away. That was when I felt Hunter's dreams start to slow, meaning he was awakening.

I slipped back into the shower, putting my hair into a shower cap because I didn't want to re-straighten it. I heard Hunter get up just as I was finishing dressing, buttoning my black Bermudas and throwing on a green tank top, pulling my hair back with a strip of leather as a headband.

"Good morning, Sleepyhead," I joked, "you know you snore, right?"

"So you've said," he grumbled as he pulled a fresh tee shirt and some pants on.

"What's wrong?" I asked, feeling the snarls of emotion. Warring in his head were love, anger, jealousy, confusion, sadness, and fear. "Are you alright?"

He heard the worried tone of my voice, closed his mind, and smiled a very unconvincing smile, attempting to reassure me, I'm sure. It didn't help. In fact, it scared me even more. He never lied to me, and I knew he was about to. Sure enough, seconds later, he did.

"I'm completely fine."

"Bull crap, Hunter. I saw your emotions, I know there's something wrong." He grimaced and looked away, focusing on the closet door to my left. "You can tell me, I won't judge."

So fast I wasn't sure I actually saw it, hope flashed in his eyes. He quickly smothered it and replied "Weird dream." Another lie.

"Sure," I said, but let it go. He would tell me when he was ready. I went to the kitchen and hurriedly scarfed down a small bowl of cereal to replace the calories I'd burned last night, not enjoying the cardboard-like flakes in the least. Hunter lounged against the counter and watched me for a second before leaving the room. I heard the water in the sink run, and the sound of him brushing his teeth. I sighed and joined him, the cinnamon of the toothpaste at odds with its green color. I watched Hunter go through his morning hair ritual. Brush, mist, brush, gel, comb, brush. Flick his head one direction, then the opposite, and smooth his hair with a circular motion around his head, making sure it framed his face just so. He nodded to me and walked out, his barriers still up. I followed him out and copied him as he set off at jog, then sped to a run. I pulled up next to him, but he stayed silent. He didn't look mad, just deep in thought. He stayed like that the entire way to school, only coming out of his trance when I called his name loudly. He blinked at me a couple of times, and I took that as acknowledgement.

"Hunter, I'm going to go hang with Bella, and I want you to come with. I'm going to ask her to visit tonight, if she can."

He looked shocked. "Our house? Why? Why not the park?"

"Look at her, you think she'd enjoy the park??" the park was what we called the huge clearing just behind the school, not far by our standards. It had an immense hill on one side, and a pond on the other. The soil was soft and loamy, the grasses were tall and soft, and the lone tree in the clearing was an excellent climbing tree, about 5 stories tall and a good 50 paces around. We and our Team were the only ones that'd ever been there (that we knew of), so it was left undisturbed by humans and their litterbug tendencies. "It's too cold for her to be outside, anyway. Look how she's bundled up!"

She was only wearing a slicker, but that counted in my book.

Hunter chuckled a bit, but followed me over. I touched Bella's shoulder lightly and she turned, smiling at me, her face a bit blank.

"Hey, Bella. It's us, Sage and Hunter."

"I knew that," she half-joked. "What's up?"

"Nothing really, just wanted to see if you wanted to hang out later," I smiled my most innocent smile. "Our house isn't mush, but it's home."

"Oh, uhh…okay." She smiled, unsure.

"Don't worry, we don't bite." _Not like Edward does._ I added silently.

She grinned for real and said, "Alright, where do you live?"

I glanced at hunter. "the middle of nowhere, practically. I'd ask you to walk with us, but it's a ways away on foot, and I'm not sure if you'd want to walk."

"We don't have a car." Hunter stated matter-of-factly.

Bella raised her eyebrows almost imperceptibly, but composed herself quickly. "That's alright, I'll drive, you direct."

The bell rang and we started to class, chatting about more casual subjects. The Cullens pulled in, though Edward wasn't with them. I tapped Hunter's barriers and squeezed the observation though the tiny rent that he opened. I felt that he was more composed than before in the instant, and I was glad. I missed the feel of his mind. I kept my barriers down but ready, in case Edward showed up. Hunter took a deep breath and his face slackened, relaxed. His barriers came down bit by bit, and I gratefully touched his mind. He smiled at my joy, though he rejoiced too. We sat in our seats, still keeping up a conversation with Bella. The bell rang, and Mr. Mason started class, ending all talking. The class flew by, as did all the classes until lunch. Bella beckoned us to her table, and we sat, watching as Bella realized Edward was gone, run who knows where to escape her scent. Her face fell a bit, but she quickly dismissed his absence. When lunch ended, we said goodbye to the table and headed to class, and again Bella's face fell.

After school, we climbed into Bella's truck, me sitting on the center divider while the other two sat in the seats. It roared to life, and Hunter gave her turn-by-turn directions. We pulled up to the end of the paved road a bit later and Bella looked confused.

"Where's the house?" she peered ahead into the thin trees.

"A tiny bit farther, but this is far as a car will be able to go. It's only about five minutes' walk, it's not far."

She gulped and got out, slipping her keys into her front-right pocket. I grabbed her hand and moved forward, towing her along. Hunter walked ahead and held branches out of the way, but our process was a bit slow. We arrived seven minutes later in the yard, and Bella took in the sight of the small building, more of a cottage than a home. The wood siding had been painted a pale toffee as soon as we arrived, the pink had annoyed Hunter. He had done some carving in the door, and I had painted each panel's scene, sometimes using a single hair and a magnifying glass to get the details. She walked up to the door and ran her fingers over the tiny animals and figures, lingering on the supernaturals. I opened the door and led her in, noticing how much art we truly had scattered around the cottage.

"Go ahead and sit. You thirsty? We have plenty of soda." I tried to be a good hostess.

"I'm okay."

"You sure? It's no trouble. In fact, I just made a batch of my special Lemonade, there's some orange and some grape in it." Hunter's eyes widened, and I smiled, "want a glass?"

Hunter nodded empathetically and Bella simply said "yes, please."

"No need to be formal, Hun." I heard Hunter say as I walked off. "we're all friends." I smiled and filled three glasses with the golden brown liquid, plunking a few ice cubes in each. I grabbed a bag of Sunchips and one of carrots, making my way back out. Hunter took his glass eagerly and sipped it slowly; he'd tell me he was savoring it if I asked. Bella sniffed hers cautiously first, I had to admit it was an odd color. When she took a taste, though, she let out a surprised 'Mmm!' and turned to me.

"This is great!" she said appreciatively. Then she noticed the food.

"Go ahead." I waved toward it, and she grabbed a carot, munching delicately on it. We ate and chatted for a while, and then I offered Bella a tour of the house. She complimented our sense of style politely, but she looked surprised to see the queen bed rather than two separate ones. I explained the space and money issue, and that we had shared a bed since we were in diapers, and it seemed to settle her mind. We wound up sitting on the bed, tossing a small stuffed squirrel to each other.

"So if you two have this room, where do your parents sleep? Is there a basement or attic room?" she asked casually.

"Actually, no. the two of them split a while ago, but had the two of us declared emancipated minors. We don't need adults around all that much." I shrugged and hunter smiled.

"that much? Try at all. We've been on our own since we were fifteen, luckily this house doesn't technically exist, so there aren't taxes. Just utilities, which mom and dad cover the tab for." He grinned at Bella.

"Wow, that rocks. I'm ready to live alone, but I technically can't yet." She smiled slightly. "Living with Charlie is pretty close to being alone, though. He's really quiet and he's not around much."

We laughed, and too soon it was time for her to go. I drove home with her, after beating down her polite resistance to cause me trouble, and then ran home. Hunter and I ate a small dinner and sparred a bit, I won just as much as he did. We showered and did our homework, then slipped into bed. Once again I fell asleep almost instantly, tucked against his chest.

**.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.**

**A/N: Sorry sorry sorry it's a day late but at the same time not, I started this last night at my dad's (internetless) house and just finished it now, at 12:15 am the next night. It's pretty long again, though… I'm thinking about going at least a day to a chapter…**

**REVIEW!!**

**Quote: 'Dumbledore said 'we have something voldemort doesn't'…is it something worth fighting for? No, it's a NOSE!" - unknown**

**Fact: only 3% of the world's population can lick their elbows…but 97% try.**


	5. Trouble Times Two

**DISCAIMER: as much as I wish I was, I am NOT Stephenie Meyer, and I own nothing from this story except the Fei and the plot twists.**

**Summary: What if, in the Twilight world, there had been another supernatural race? Namely the Fei? Now they exist, and the twin Fei Guards who befriend Bella might possibly stir up all new enemies… Begins Bella's first day of school, from the Fei's POV's**

**.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.**

"SAGE!!" Hunter shouted, shocking me from my rest. "They're coming!"

"What's coming?" I asked, bolting up from the bed and into a fighting stance. "How many, and where?"

He dropped his barriers completely and I gasped. _NO! they're not supposed to exist anymore!_ Two Drakk were flying nearby. Now that I was awake, I could feel the cold, reptilian minds of these gargantuan, winged serpents. I yanked on my suit, my back turned to hunter so he could do the same. _Should we get the Cullens?_

_I don't know…can we handle two Drakk? _I thought of their cold, calculating glances, their wicked speed, and their incredible strength.

_I think we have to. We would never live through one Drakk, let alone two. _ I turned my worried glance to Hunter and gulped. Our Training Coach had lost all but one member of his twelve-member Team versing three… and they had been Master Rangers, not just Fledglings like us. We had just graduated our First Training, we hadn't started our second.

Hunter bolted out the front door and I followed closely on his heels, racing toward the Cullens'. When we were in reading distance of Edward, we mentally shouted _DANGER! DANGER! LIVES DEPEND ON US! _I was confused when we were in sight of the house, and no one was outside, but not overly. He probably had dismissed the thought, not recognizing our 'voices'.

"C'mon, Vamps! We're all in _DANGER!!" _Hunter bellowed, and finally got a reaction. Six pairs of eyes regarded us through the windows, and then Carlisle stepped out of the house. I yanked my hood off and ran up to him.

"No time to explain," I said, seeing his shocked expression. "You have to help us. There are two huge, winged snakes with arms called Drakk coming toward town, and we need more than two Fledgling Rangers to stop them." I saw that this all flew over his head, and I heaved an exasperated sigh. "You know what Rangers are?"

He shook his head. Before I started to explain, he turned to the house and calmly said "Everyone out here now." All of the others (Minus Edward) filed out nd looked at us expectantly. I sighed again, and in a rush said, "Rangers, like Hunter and I, are Supernatural Secret Police, half vampire, half fairy. We have elemental powers and vampire senses, speed, and strength. There are two Vampire-killing serpents coming this way, they will completely decimate the town." I looked around the group. "we need your help, two Fledgling Rangers re no match for two Drakk. Are you in?" Carlisle looked skeptic still, so I stepped back a few paces.

"Careful, Sage." Hunter cautioned, so I backed up a bit more. I lit my left foot on fire, surrounded my right with water, sent a gust of air around each Cullen, one at a time, grew a tree just in front of me, and launched into my Fighting Sequence at top speed. Hunter jumped in and sparred with me for a second, and then he levitated me. He sent _See? It's true._ Into all of their minds, and they jumped.

"We believe you. What are these creatures precisely?" hunter and I sent all of the Drakk memories we had at them, and they inhaled in shock.

"Will you help?" I asked, checking the Drakk's positions. They were less than a mile away. "We have to hurry."

"We're in." Alice stepped forward to stand by my side and Jasper followed. Emmet echoed them, as did Carlisle and Esmé. Rosalie hesitated, but eventually joined us. I smiled grimly at them and took off, streaking back toward the Drakk's location. They came into sight about ten minutes later.

"On three, Alice, Jasper, and I will attack the dark Drakk, the rest of you to the light one." I glared at hunter, but had to agree. Other than Emmet, my group of fighters was rather pitiful. I heard hunter's countdown begin, and I hurriedly whispered a list of vulnerable areas for the Drakk. Wing membranes, jugular, temple, bottom of the jaw. i sent my suit a quick command and thick spiked blossomed along my back. Another, simultaneous command plated my stomach and head with heavy armor. Hunter hit three, finally, and my group shot straight up. I touched all of their minds to help me help them, if need be. Esmé went for the right wing while Carlisle went for the neck. Emmet hit its midsection and began to attempt to rip it apart, and Rosalie got the left wing. I pulled myself onto its back and punched right in its temple, definitely getting its attention. The Drakk spun in midair, a corkscrewing loop, and all of us went flying. It whipped out its tail and grabbed Esmé, bringing her closer to its huge, black beak. She shouted, but Carlisle was helpless, still falling. I grew a vine and wrapped It round his ankle like a whip, using it to shoot him upward while it sent me down. I spared a glance at Hunter, only to see his team in just as much trouble as mine. A memory flashed into my head and I started, not an easy thing to do midair. My feet hit the ground, creating a good size crater, and I grasped my necklace, using the Team Link embedded within it to send an S.O.S. to our entire Training Team. They acknowledged and started toward me, most were off duty. If we could hold on ten minutes, tops, they would be here.

I informed everyone of this, and some relief spread through. Esmé screamed again from the air and the three of us on the ground sprang into the air. Carlisle and esme were wrestling to keep the Drakk's beak open, to keep it from swallowing them, but they were losing. Inch by inch, foot by foot, the Drakk's mouth closed. Suddenly, it wrapped its scaly tongue round the two of them and yanked, sending them into its gut.

**.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.**

**A/N: the story seemed to be getting a bit dull, so I added some action. :) Woo! Cliffy! **

**I'm sad, though. I have at least two people who've read this through, but only one review. From my sister. Not even mildly relating to the story.**

**Quote: "Energizer Bunny arrested and charged with Battery."**

**Fact: there is a town called Humansville in Missouri. **


	6. What's This Thing?

**DISCAIMER: as much as I wish I was, I am NOT Stephenie Meyer, and I own nothing from this story except the Fei and the plot twists.**

**Summary: What if, in the Twilight world, there had been another supernatural race? Namely the Fei? Now they exist, and the twin Fei Guards who befriend Bella might possibly stir up all new enemies… Begins Bella's first day of school, from the Fei's POV's**

**A/N: For any of you who read 5 already, I gave the Drakk arms because they seemed a bit odd and awkward without them…how would they land?**

**.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.**

"NO!" I shouted, as my hands thudded against the Drakk's closed beak. I lit both hands and commanded air to keep my afloat while I engulfed the Drakk in a raging inferno, watching as it plummeted slightly. I hit it with blast after blast, driving it toward the grassy earth. Just before it hit, I gusted the wind to flip it onto its back, instantly spying Carlisle and Esmé. The Drakk's stomach writhed and churned just beneath its head, and I growled. I strapped the Drakk to the ground as best as I could with the elements, and dropped straight down on its extended wing, tearing the membrane. I quickly called the others over and together we snapped the wing, so that it couldn't fly off. I heard an echoing snap, and saw the other Drakk plummeting to the ground.

"Spit them out, you overgrown worm!" I yelled, attacking its side just beneath the bulge. Emmet and Rosalie attacked the other side, and we kept at it, slowly moving the bulge upward.

A shrill whistle pierced the silence of the night, and my Team raced into view. Ava let them, her copper hair streaming out behind her. Ian, Mia, Newton, and the triplets were close behind, with Forrest, Williem and Wraith bringing up the rear. Mia, Forrest, and the triplets split off to help Hunter, while the others ran toward me. The Cullens took in the newcomers with surprise, and I couldn't blame them. Ava, Wraith, Williem, Newton, and Ian were pretty abnormal. They were each clad in suits, hoods down. Ian's leprechaun ancestry made him tiny but wiry, 5'1" with brilliant red hair, a creamy complexion, and pale green eyes. Newton, or Newt, stood at over 6 feet, subtly muscled, with long brown hair and green-gold eyes. Williem's shin was so dark it was hard to see him in the moonless night, and his bushy black hair was only a shade darker and added a few inches to his 6 feet. Wraith was a 5'11" albino, hence his ghostly nickname. Each suit was armed, and their specialty elements swirled around them. Wraith's eyes had turned flat white from his Psychic energy, while Ian and Williem were engulfed in water. Ava was literally on fire, and Newt had leafy tendrils twisting around him.

I smiled grimly. "Two Vamps, Class four, in the Drakk's stomach. Two attempting rescue here, two and Hunter attempting to subdue over there." Class four were the gold-eyes, the ones we tried hardest to protect. They nodded and began to mercilessly attack the Drakk, just s I had been moments before. Now that all of them were here, my mind went into strategy mode. Remembering a powerful attack we'd been taught, I asked, "Fuse and incise?" They nodded again, and we knit our minds to an extent that we were one. Our feet stepped forward, our eyes blinked, and our hands all drew into a scorpion shape, one hand out while the other arced over our heads. We chanted in unison, the ancient words flowing off our tongues as we flowed through the poses. Finally, our hands came down in a chop, and all five elements came together to slash open the creature. It hit and stopped about a foot into the flesh. We hunched our backs and brought our lefts down with even more force, rending the Drakk nearly in two. It screamed in pain and fear, and I winced. That was all it took for me to lose my focus, and the spell crumbled. The dying Drakk writhed on the ground, and I slipped on the blood-soaked ground as I tried and failed to dodge a sweep of its tail. Pain shot up my leg and I realized the foul creature had just broken my shin. It thrashed a bit more and I cursed as Ava dragged me over a stone. The beast was still, all except for the violent movement of its malformed stomach. Carlisle and Esmé emerged from the creature's severed neck to the sound of the other Drakk's mournful cry. The dark Drakk stopped moving and they quickly finished it off, without much of a fight. Emmet, morbidly curious, went over to sniff at the light carcass. He caught a droplet of blood on his finger and licked it off, eyes widening.

"Woah." He said quietly, before he sunk his teeth in and began to drink. I was still connected to him, so I felt the incredible pleasure the taste of the Drakk's blood gave him, with its superiority to even a vampire. Eventually he finished, wiping his mouth and turning to us, his eyes tinted orange. I went over to the body next and stroked the smooth scales for a few seconds, sending apologies to the Mother and Father. My hand ran over a large, solid lump and I frowned. _ Huh, an egg._ I sent to Hunter.

_Sage, please don't. You can't._

Disappointment flooded me as I realized that he was right, I couldn't hope to succeed, could I? I looked at Carlisle and Esmé, getting carefully washed by the team. They hd come so close to dying at the hands of a Drakk, though I realized now she was only protecting her egg. I closed my eyes as I felt the backs start to prickle, and sternly told myself not to cry. It was most definitely not my fault that I didn't read the Drakk's mind to see why they were so close to civilization, even though I was one of only two who could have. It wasn't my fault I didn't pay attention to the hard lump, or the worried feelings she sent each time one of us touched it. It wasn't my fault I had just condemned this innocent creature to death…

A single tear rolled down my face as I thought this, and I opened my betraying eyes to watch it roll down the cold, beautiful scales. I sighed a shuddering breath and prayed to the Mother.

_With this tear, may her soul find happiness and light, and my kill be forgiven._

I touched the lump again and turned to leave. I hadn't gone two steps when I felt the strangest sensation; comforting feelings, as well as loneliness and fear, filled my mind with no discernible source.

_Who are you?_ I asked after blocking everyone from my Team, plus the Cullens. _Where are you?_

An image overlaid my sight, red light filtering weakly through a membrane, looking almost as if someone was shining a flashlight through their hand. The sensation of a hard, oval object enveloped me, and the realization hit me as hard as a semi. _You're in the egg, aren't you? You're the baby Drakk!_

Acknowledgement.

_Don't worry, little one._

CONFUSION, FEAR.

_Why not? Because I can't leave you. I'll come back, and I will save you, my Dear._

LOVE. GRATITUDE. LONGING. WORRY.

_I promise, I'll save you. My brother won't like it, but he doesn't have to know. You'll be warmer in there than out here, for now. _

I smiled and pulled my bangs out of my face, tucking them behind my ear. The others were expertly creating a fire to dispose of the pieces of the carcass, though they first removed the teeth and spikes. Those would make the best knives anyone had ever seen, diamond hard and capable of holding an edge like nothing else. You could hone these to a razor-sharpness and not worry about them breaking. Mia and the triplets (Faith, Hope, and Destiny) carried the female's head to the pile while I helped the others carry the body over. The egg would be safe; the Drakk usually lived in or near volcanoes, for the warmth. Everyone stood around the fire as it burned away the pieces, leaving when the scales disintegrated and the skin caught.

SADNESS, FEAR, LONGING, LOVE. HOT.

_Too hot? _I asked the egg, concerned. I sent a wave through the earth when everyone else's backs were turned, focusing it to roll the egg out of the flame and into the trees, where it settled in a dip in the land, the black ash of its mother's body clinging to it. The fire blazed higher now that the obstruction was out of the way, and the spikes lashed to my arm clinked as I shielded my eyes.

HAPPY. RELEIF.

I turned to follow the rest of them, and wound up next to Alice. She tapped her head discreetly and I raised one eyebrow. She rubbed her eye, looked at me, and brushed her forehead. Oh, she hd a _vision!_ Duh. I touched her mind and she played it back for me, sending me reeling in shock. The image was of me, riding astride a glittering white Drakk and holding my hand carved, Drakk's spike Katana imitation at the ready. We sunk through the clouds and the Drakk shimmered, winking out of sight. The clearing below me was filled with vampires in grey cloaks…the Volturi. I sensed, as Alice must have, that my presence saved many, many lives. My vision returned to normal, and I grinned at Alice.

_Seems like saving the egg was the right decision._

_Definitely_. A thought had occurred to me as she said that.

_Please, let me tell Hunter myself. _

_Of course, as long as I can dress you for school tomorrow._

_Would you pass the message along to Edward, when he gets back?_

_Make it a week, and you have a deal. _She smiled angelically at me.

_Fine. When should I come over tomorrow?_

_I can come to your house._ I hesitated, deliberating how wise it was.

_Alright, I guess. What time?_

_What time do you get up?_

I laughed quietly, and she smiled again. _I'm not going back to sleep tonight, I don't think, but I'll probably visit the egg._

_I'm sure she'd appreciate that._

_She?_

_The egg. It's a she._

'oh' I mouthed.

"So, Alice," Wraith commented from beside me. I jumped. "What are you doing this Friday?"

"My _husband_ and I," she gestured to Jasper, "are going clubbing. Speaking of which, would you and Hunter like to come, Sage?" Wraith looked disappointed and sped up to talk to Forrest.

I nodded, but then frowned. "I don't have anything to wear, I don't think. It'll be quite the experience trying to find decent clubbing clothes around here that I can afford…"

Alice laughed and mimed wiping a tear from her eye. "You think price is an object when you're a friend of my family? Good one. I'll pick you up right after school Friday to go shopping, then go back to my house for makeup, and then to the club." She squealed. "I'm so excited!!!" I laughed and we chatted idly about clothing and makeup, a rare occurrence for me, living with only a guy. Hunter was good for outfit approval and hair help, but that's about it.

The triplets laughed loudly and I looked forward, spying them instantly. Their blonde hair was paler than Mia's gold, and more ashy to fit with their grey eyes. Mia's was cut in a professional bob, her hazel eyes flashing with intelligence, while the twins' knee-length-when-straightened corkscrew curls brushed the smalls of their backs, barely. All three triplets were shorter than the rest of us, and Mia was just an inch or two taller. Forrest, on the other hand, was almost seven feet tall; both his hair and eyes were black, a contrast to his Asian complexion. All of us Rangers were on the thin side with the exception of him, Forrest, who was part ogre.

The Cullens' house came into view again, and we were invited to stay the night. I declined at first, but then accepted when I realized how easy it would be to sneak from this house. Everyone was sent to various guest rooms, usually four to a room. I was surprised they even had beds…wait no I wasn't. eww. Images.

I slipped into the nightgown that Esmé had dropped off as Hunter, Ava, and Wraith also changed. When we were all decent Hunter and I shared one bed while Ava and Wraith shared the other. As soon as all of the minds that could had changed into the sleep pattern, I slipped from hunter's arms and zipped my suit over the nightgown, pulling it out of the neck. I leapt through the window I had left open and dashed through the dark forest to the place I left the egg, launching myself through the air a few times in random directions to confuse the scent. I crossed through a river and went through trees for a while, and I was finally there. I ran my hand over the filthy surface, brushing some of the ash off.

LOVE, HAPPY.

_I told you I'd come back._ I thought for a second. _You need a name, don't you._

CONFUSED.

_Nevermind. Let's get you clean._

HAPPY.

I lifted the egg into my arms and carried it to a nearby stream, placing it in the cold, clear water.

BAD, COLD, MAD. I took the egg out and instead used the elements to make a small, shallow depression of stone, filling it with warm water. The egg sent me HAPPY, WARM when I placed it in this water, and I quickly washed it off. I commanded air to dry her, and tucked her into my suit front for the run home.

I went in to the rarely-used tree-house in the back of the house, high in the tree. Placing an old pillow in a corner of the room, I undid the front of the suit and set the egg on the pillow. The gorgeous white color of the egg was shot through with tiny clear, green, and black veins, contrasting with the purely black throw pillow. The egg was about the size of a watermelon, and very hard, harder than anything I'd ever felt. It was rather heavy for something that size, but so were Drakk in general. Their bodies were denser, supposedly, as younglings than as adults because the younglings were typically carried. They averaged out at about four months post-hatch, and never stopped growing. They'd live until they were killed; no Drakk expired from old age.

I kissed the surface of the egg quickly, unthinkingly, and left the treehouse.

_I'll be back tomorrow, love._

LOVE. LONGING.

_I'll miss you too._

I crawled back into bed with Hunter three minutes later, asleep the second my head hit the pillow.

≤:0~º÷΅Ψ΅÷º~0:≥

_The smaller, white version of the Drakk we had just fought sat in front of me, arms crossed in front of her at the wrists, tail curled around, tip draped over one taloned hand. She blinked her one visible silver eye at me and cocked her head._

Sage? _Her wise, melodious voice rang in my head like the sound of a church bell. _Mother?

"_Yes, love, it's me. Have you a name you like?"_

I rather like Crystal, or Aura…or Arella. _She said the second name with reverence, I could tell she really liked it. I did, too._

"_How about Aura? It fits you."_

Aura it is, then. How nice it is to finally see you, Sage.

"_I know." I smiled, remembering Alice's vision. "Here, look at this." I showed her the vision and she hummed in contentment. _

"_Would you happen to know when you will hatch?" _

It _is_ getting rather cramped in here…_ she deliberated. _How about when you visit me tomorrow, I will try to hatch, and if I cannot tomorrow, I will try the next day, and the next.

_I moved to her and rubbed her neck, she seemed to enjoy it. "Don't hatch if you're not ready, love. I don't want to pressure you."_

_She yawned and stretched in one rolling extension, calmly stating _It's no hassle, I'm outgrowing the egg now, anyway. Running out of food, and all.

_I kissed her forehead and felt myself slipping, though it felt like seconds since I had arrived. "Until tomorrow, Aura dear."_

_My dreams faded to blackness and I did not dream again that night._

**.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.**

**A/N: WOOO!!! My first nonsibling review! Thank you to Angel of the Night Watchers for her review!**

**Now you guys follow along and review and I'll give you a long chapter!**

**Every time I ger a review it puts me in the best mood, and I tend to write better when I'm in a good mood… :)**

**Quote: "the greener grass on the other side is probably artificial turf."**

**Fact: it is illegal to let horses eat fire hydrants in Iowa…**


	7. Extreme Makeover Sage Edition

**DISCAIMER: as much as I wish I was, I am NOT Stephenie Meyer, and I own nothing from this story except the Fei and the plot twists.**

**Summary: What if, in the Twilight world, there had been another supernatural race? Namely the Fei? Now they exist, and the twin Fei Guards who befriend Bella might possibly stir up all new enemies… Begins Bella's first day of school, from the Fei's POV's**

**A/N: for any of you who read 5 already, I gave the Drakk arms because they seemed a bit odd and awkward without them…how would they land?**

**.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.**

I awakened slowly the next morning and was extremely confused. My walls weren't pale pink…were they? I sat up slowly, my head pounding from my heavy magic use last night, and took in my surroundings again. Hunter next to me, the pale rose duvet cover pulled up to his chin and his knees tucked in. Ava and Wraith in another queen bed on the other side of the room. Sandy flooring, a thick, plush white rug spread in the middle of the room. Expensive lamps on each if the four nightstands, priceless paintings on the walls. _Ahhh…I'm at the Cullens'._ Last night came flooding back to me and I widened my eyes. Had I _really_ saved a baby Drakk, the most dangerous specie known to man? Well, to the Rangers, but still. I berated myself silently for letting my impulsive nature rule over my common sense.

Then I remembered the dream. The small, beautiful white Drakk with the bell-like voice who already held a piece of my heart, although she had yet to hatch. Alice's vision of the white Drakk – Aura, I reminded myself – and I flying into a battle where our very presence would save lives. My heart warmed as I thought again of my Aura, my Drakk. I reached for the smartsuit that I had hung by my bed just before falling asleep, my fingers encountering nothing but air. I peered around the room and found it neatly folded on a chair by the foot of the bed. I leapt up and yanked it on, luxuriating in the comforting feel of the suit on my skin. Alice knocked quietly and pulled the door open, yanking me into the hallway by my wrist.

"What was that for?" I demanded, rubbing the place her fingers had been.

"Oops, sorry, but I need to get to work on dressing you!" she looked at her nails, adopting a jokingly proud demeanor. "After all, perfection takes time."

I sighed. "Fine, just make sure someone tells the rest of 'em where I went." She squealed and flung me onto her back, racing down the stairs. "Uhh, Alice? Are you forgetting I can run just as fast as you?"

She laughed and set me down, her laughter increasing as I pulled ahead of her and remained in the lead all the way to my Cottage. She ran into my closet as soon as the door was open and began rifling through the two racks that were there – mine and Hunter's. We wore mostly the same sizes, so we usually shared. There were a few things we kept to ourselves, mainly Hunter's leather biker jacket and my long black duster. We understood that these were not to be touched, and left it at that.

Alice grabbed my shoulder just then and thrust a pair of black leggings and a long, green shirt at me. I slipped them on and grimaced at my reflection. I looked…_feminine._ I was supposed to be the badass, the tomboy, the strong girl. Here I was, in a friggin' dress and leggings, while Alice laced on spike heels and dabbed makeup on my face. She fussed with my hair, too, and then turned me to face the floor-to-ceiling mirror on the back of my door.

I didn't recognize myself. Gone was the stick-straight black hair I was accustomed to, replaced by large curls. My muscled legs, I had to admit, looked great in the clingy leggings. The cut of the shirt had been wrong, but once Alice added the thick black belt it hugged my waist, giving me curves I didn't normally have. My emerald eyes were delicately lined and done in a soft gold, and she had spread blush lightly over my cheeks.

She stood there, smug, as I assessed my reflection. When I turned to ask her why she was staring, I was momentarily blinded by a flash of light. I heard a beep, and then saw Alice drop the tiny camera back into her slightly larger clutch. She pulled on my hand again and led me back to her house, where there was bacon frying courtesy of Destiny. Hope was on egg duty, while Faith squeezed some oranges. Mia, as per usual, wound up with the easiest job. She was making toast.

Alice dances into the kitchen and called dramatically "Now presenting, the new and improved Sage!" before flitting to the table, squeezing between Hunter and Forrest, interrupting their conversation. I gulped and stepped into view, hearing the shocked gasps of everyone in the kitchen.

_You look GOOD_ Hunter sent me, jaw slack. _If we weren't related I'd be attracted to you._

There was an edge to his voice, but I dismissed it as post-fight nerves. Wraith sat where he was, silently running his eyes up and down me. The pig.

Rosalie skidded to a halt by the door, proclaiming it was time to get our sorry faces to school. Hunter and I obediently trooped to the convertible, leaving the rest of the tem to hang with Carlisle and Esmé all day.

School flew by again, the only really interesting part being sitting at Bella's table. She welcomed us, taking in my new look.

"I like it," she whispered, "but why?"

"Alice" I said simply. "She insisted on a makeover."

Bella raised an eyebrow, apparently startled that I was friendly with the Cullens. "By the way," I said, "I have no idea where He is. No one chose to tell me." Her face fell, but then turned suspicious.

"How'd you know I was looking for Edward?"

"It's kind of obvious, Hun." I shook my head with mock sadness. "You glance around, see the Cullens, look hopeful, then your face falls. It's a bad idea to get involved with any of them, though. They're dangerous."

"That doesn't seem to concern you." She crossed her arms over her chest. "You seem downright chummy."

"Who's to say I'm not dangerous myself?" I asked, crushing my empty soda can with one hand. I flashed my inhumanly sharp, but still not vampiric, teeth at her and her eyebrows pulled together.

"I say neither of you are dangerous." Damn, she caught my bluff. I knew none of the Cullens would hurt her, and neither would I.

"That's where you're wrong." She started to speak again and I cut her off. "You want me to prove it?" I knew I'd regret this… "Come over to my house after school and I'll show you just how dangerous hunter and I can be."

**.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.**

**A/N: I know I said a day each chapter but it's a good ending here, it's late, this's long, and I can barely type I'm so tired. **

**Review, though, anyway!!**

**Quote: "NO! you know what's random?!?! A turtle in a hotdog suit!!!." – me at 6 flags, talking to my boyfriend about my sister's randomness.**

**Fact: George Washington never chopped down a cherry tree.**


	8. It's perfect too perfect

**DISCAIMER: as much as I wish I was, I am NOT Stephenie Meyer, and I own nothing from this story except the Fei and the plot twists.**

**Summary: What if, in the Twilight world, there had been another supernatural race? Namely the Fei? Now they exist, and the twin Fei Guards who befriend Bella might possibly stir up all new enemies… Begins Bella's first day of school, from the Fei's POV's**

**A/N: for any of you who read 5 already, I gave the Drakk arms because they seemed a bit odd and awkward without them…how would they land?**

**.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.**

_WHAT?!?! _Hunter screamed mentally, causing me to jump and wince. _She's a HUMAN!!!! She _CAN'T _know about Supes!!!_

_Why the hell not, Hunter? You know she'll either find out about Edward or die, right?!?!_

_So?!?! Why didn't you at least friggin' WARN me?_

_Because you'd tell me not to._

_Well, you shouldn't! _He sounded enraged, and I cringed inwardly.

_I am. That's my final decision. If you want, I can say you're all human and we're not really related. Or we're half siblings._

_No, I'll stick by you. We'll face the consequences together or not at all._

"thanks." I whispered, causing Bella to look at me oddly. "Oh, Hunter was just reminding me of a homework assignment he said he'd help me with."

Hunter pulled a sheet of paper out and I followed his lead, quickly fabricating an assignment for one of the classes we didn't share with Bella. She added a few comments here and there on the phony assignment, correcting small errors as I wrote. The bell sounded and we gathered our stuff, trudging to the Bio classroom.

When the P.E. bell rang we rushed to Bella's car through a sudden downpour. Hunter gave me a smug look, as if saying, 'look, we can't reveal ourselves today.'

I ignored him and asked Bella to make a detour, leading us to an area with some caves. We 'sprinted' to the cave closest to us, and the almost silence was broken only by Bella's ragged, uneven breaths.

"Bella, before I show you what I am about to, I need to know. Do you trust us?" I placed my hands on her shoulders and looked deep into her eyes.

"Yes." She said, completely convinced.

"Alright. Remember, we would never harm a human on purpose, so you needn't be afraid. The second you are, tell one of us and we'll stop."

"You say human like you're not." We looked at her meaningfully. "Not human? Okay. What then?"

"Half fairy, half vampire. Our kind are called Rangers, when active."

Bella burst out laughing. "Funny, guys." We just stared at her again. "Oh, you were serious?" her voice trembled almost imperceptibly.

"Deadly." Hunter said, grimly. I chuckled under my breath at the double meaning.

"Well, then, what is so special about rangers? Can you fly?"

"More than just that," We chorused. "Want to see?" I asked alone.

"Hit me with your best shot." I sat down an arm's length from her ahead and to her right, while Hunter did the same, but a bit to the left. She looked wary when he started muttering in Latin, and I laughed, jabbing my elbow into his ribs. He apologized and explained he was kidding.

"He thinks this whole thing is a joke," I said, rolling my eyes. "c'mon," I turned to him, "get serious."

He pouted a bit, but didn't object. We faced each other and he announced "first ability: elemental control. The five elements are air-" he blew a breeze around her.

"-Fire-" I continued, snapping my fingers to create a small flame on the tip of my pointer finger, which I then threw to Hunter.

"-Water-" the fire went out with a sizzle as water spouted onto it from his other hand.

"-Earth-" a trailing Morning Glory vine sprouted from my hand and raced across the cave floor, small teal flowers with white throats sprouting from its length.

_-and spirit_ we chorused, while Bella sat watching.

"Okay," her voice was trembling a bit more noticeably than before, but not to an extreme. "Air, Fire, Water, and Earth, but that's only four." Her mind must have been blocked better than I thought.

"Psyche, too, meaning we can read and project thoughts, but your mind is guarded right now so the only way we can show you is either to levitate something," I raised a stone as I spoke, "or Mindspeak to an animal to get it to come here."

She nodded calmly, but I saw the flicker of fear in her eyes. "So element control. Is that all?"

Hunter chuckled and said, "You wish. We also have the speed and strength of a vampire." With her blank look, he commanded "Watch" And took off through the opening of the cave faster than human eyes could easily track. He came back carrying a large tree, too big to fit in the opening of the cave, and plucked the branches off one at a time, like a middle school boy plucking the legs from a grasshopper.

"_Please_ tell me that was already dead," I exclaimed, worried he'd sacrificed a life for his amusement, a great crime in the eyes of the Mother.

"Of course, Sage." Bella watched our casual exchange with wary eyes. Hunter hefted the tree onto his shoulder and carried it in, setting it against the tall ceiling, away from the comparatively tiny mouth. The tree scraped against the roof as he yanked it into an upright position, chunks falling from the top. He circled to the far side of the tree, pulled his arm back and plunged his fingers into the wood while I watched from his head, gouging a hole in the side. Once I realized what he was doing, I pulled out of his head, though he continued working for a minute or two, and soon he had a nook in the side facing the rear of the cave that a person or two could easily hide in. he stood back and gestured for me to go in and I did, pulling Bella in behind me. She looked up and gasped, seeing the foot and handholds Hunter had made leading up into the hollow trunk, unbeknownst to me.

"Go ahead of me, I'll catch you if you fall." I placed my hands on Bella's waist and hefted her to the first handhold, a bit less than a foot over her head, but just a tiny bit over mine. She grasped the indentations unsurely, and I could tell she was afraid. I waited until she had grasped the second set and had her feet on the small ledge Hunter'd left before I fit my hands into the first set and pulled myself up. Bella seemed to be reassured by my presence just behind her, but not much, and I said a low oath. "Come on down, Bella, I have a better idea."

"How?" she squeaked, afraid.

"Lower yourself a bit and I'll grab you." She started to ease down and I grasped her around the waist lightly but securely. "Now turn, wrap your legs around my waist, and hold on to my neck."

She did as she was told and I scampered down, almost freefalling but not quite, touching down on the ground in half a second. She disengaged and I held my hand in front of me in a 'stop' manner, but pointing to the wall of the alcove. New growth sprouted from the smooth wall, small branches that wove into a lattice of spiral steps, with a thick support attached to the opposite wall. Bella's face relaxed in relief, and she blew out a deep breath.

"Alright, I have to admit the first way was a bit difficult…" Hunter said, looking a bit apologetic. Bella assured him that it was no problem; she would've made the same mistake. That sent Hunter and I into fits of laughter, which Bella soon joined. I gestured for her to go first again, still somewhat laughing, and she slipped inside. I ran a hand along the wall as I slipped in after Hunter, causing small designs to grow in tiny white flowers on the wood, no bigger than a millimeter. As I watched, the flowers expanded in spiraling tendrils, coating the complete surface of the 'wall' in the intricate spirals. I laughed lightheartedly; it seemed that now Bella knew everything about us, a great weight had been lifted from my chest. I smiled at Hunter when he turned to me, a bemused expression on his face, and he grinned joyously back.

A good three stories later, Bella was starting to slow dramatically. It didn't help that my stairs prevented her from seeing she had but ten or fifteen stairs to go when she stopped, but it didn't matter. Hunter leaned down and grabbed her under the arms, swinging her onto his back. She looked uncomfortable, so I grabbed her carefully and gently tugged, letting her know to let go. I held her in a modified bridal style, an arm under her back, but the other arm holding her legs tucked a bit more. She seemed more comfortable than on Hunter's back, and slung her arms around my neck to help her feel more secured. The stairs went on farther than they should have, and suddenly the air pressure changed. I was sure Bella didn't feel it – it was very slight – but I knew we had left the cave. Seconds later a small ledge appeared; a small door through the tree wall on it. Hunter opened it quietly and held it for me, allowing me to keep both arms on Bella.

I was amazed when I stepped through. Hunter had grown the tree through the roof of the cave and expanded it to about the size of an average sitting room, complete with moss-padded chairs and sofas, as well as a door to the outside and large windows with woven-vine shutters. Even with the Elemental Control, it was pretty cool that Hunter'd made this in just a few minutes. Bella sucked in a shocked gasp, reminding me how short my thoughts actually were. I set her down and she ran her hand over the arm of the nearest chair, and then sank into it with a small sigh. She smiled at Hunter.

"Wow, this is comfortable. And the entire place is incredible, Hunter," she complimented him, and I agreed. He pointed to n irregular piece of the east-facing part of the wall, and I looked closer. An image of the three of our torsos, arms thrown over each others' shoulders and laughing, was carved in varying depths.

"This'll look really cool when the sun's out, I hope. We're above most of the other trees, so it should be light enough. Hang on, I'll show you." He slipped out the door and lit his hand just behind the image, throwing the deeper carved parts into a golden light and the thicker parts into shadow, creating an almost living image. He must have stripped the bark from the other side to make it do this, I realized. I also realized, quite belatedly, that I could manipulate the water of the rain to not fall on us. I felt a strong urge to smack myself on the forehead and yell DUH!

Bella called my name and I glanced over. She had her knees pulled up to her chest, and I went to sit by her on the sofa she'd moved to. I felt her lean into my warmth as I flung my arm over the back of the couch and realized she must be freezing.

"Fire," I whispered unnecessarily, again snapping my fingers. The small flame danced into my palm and grew, and I altered its properties slightly with a small spell. "Here, take this, it'll warm you up."

She looked doubtful, but after I told her it wouldn't burn her she took it gratefully.

"Tea?" I asked, receiving a confused-but-accepting stare. I grew a dense wooden mug from the wall and summoned water and fire to create the boiling water, a tall chamomile plant shooting from the rock to deposit a handful of seeds in my palm. Quick flick of my wrist split a few of the seeds, and their roots created teabag of sorts, the tea instantly turned a golden yellow with the seeds' flavor, and I offered it to Bella. "See? Now would you like some?"

"I've never had straight tea before…" she looked thoughtful, "…at least not herbal. I think I've had pomegranate, but I'm not sure."

"You have to try this, then," I offered, handing it to her. "It's simple, but it's my favorite."

"Mine, too." Hunter echoed, coming back in the door. "It has a certain flavor that I just love."

"I'll try it then." She took a small sip and shuddered, "Wow, its warm." She sipped again. "I like it."

We all smiled at each other. "Are you afraid of us?" Hunter asked suddenly, and a bit fearfully.

"No." we looked at her, surprised. "I knew something was different about you two, it's a relief to find out what."

"Well, well. We wouldn't want to lose you as a friend, so that's great!" I seconded his opinion and Bella blushed, looking deep into her tea. Hunter saw her with her cup and prepared two more, one for me and one for him. I sipped it gratefully, feeling the calming scent of chamomile relax me. Too soon, the sun set and Bella needed to get home. She looked fearfully at the stairs, and I laughed.

"Come on over and I'll bring you down." She shook her head and started down the stairs, so I looked into her head to maybe get a hint of why.

_Ahhh_…she just didn't want to be a burden, to be the 'weak human' – or so I gathered from the insecurity, sadness, and pride I felt. "It's no trouble, Hun; you're light as a feather. You never have to worry about being a burden to any of us, or be afraid to ask us anything. That's what friends are for." She looked at me suspiciously.

"Are you sure you can't read my mind?" Hunter and I laughed.

"No, we can't, but we can guess." Hunter chuckled again, but I sped up and grabbed Bella, holding her against my chest as I again nearly plummeted through the center of the staircase, barely large enough to fit my body through the tube-like space. Bella let out a startled "EEP!" and instinctively wrapped her arms around my torso, but was otherwise silent. Hunter flashed down the stairs as I plummeted, crossing my legs a bit as the tube widened near the base to give Bella something to more or less rest on. I held Bella with my crossed legs pressing her gently to me and began slowing my fall by grasping and releasing the supports. After the last support, ten feet from the ground, I shifted so I was holding her with my hands and landed gently.

"You can let go now, Bella. We're on solid ground."

"Gimme a sec…" the silence stretched to almost five minutes, during which I shifted to a bridal hold for her comfort. She eventually opened her eyes and met mine. "That. Was. Terrifying."

Hunter's laugh boomed from beside me, and Bella jumped. I elbowed him in a split second, too quickly for Bella to notice. She stood from my hold and walked shakily out of the cave and back to her truck, where she fumbled for her keys. I plucked them from her pocket and handed them to her, slipping into the passenger side. Hunter leapt into the back, and Bella drove back to her house.

"See you tomorrow!" I exclaimed, kissing her on the cheek and hugging her tightly. Hunter gave her an awkward one-armed hug and bid her goodnight, smiling. Bella offered again to drive us home, but we declined.

"We'll make better time on foot."

"Hey! You calling my truck slow?"

"No, I'm saying when you run at over 100 mph without breaking a sweat, cars are obsolete."

She gaped for a second, but recovered. "I'll see you tomorrow, then."

"Yup, bye." Hunter and I said, and then sprinted into the forest. We raced home, all the joy from the reveal today spilling into our every movement. As soon as we got in, I told hunter I was going to bed. He followed me and was out in seconds. I might have used a bit of Psyche…

When I reached the tree house, Aura's egg started to rock. Gently at first, then more and more. I rushed over and sat beside her, egging her on with short thoughts her direction. Seeing her hatching sent new joy through me and I thought to myself _how could this day get any better? _

Aura's beak poked through a hole in the shell, then pulled back in to be replaced by an arm, and finally both arms. She shoved outward, and the shell splintered down the middle, a final shove, and she was OUT!!

I lifted her to me and let all of my barriers down, watching as the joy I was feeling washed over me. LOVE, JOY. She sent back, and I smiled. I lay down and she curled up right beside me, giving herself a thorough cleaning before resting her head over my heart and promptly falling asleep. I followed soon after, our dreams mingling with thoughts of the future, and the rest of our lives together.

**.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.**

**A/N: Collective *awwwwww* and it's gonna say I updated on 4/13 for this but it's really still 4/12 cause I haven't gone to sleep yet.**

**It's perfect for sage right now…too perfect. DUN DUN DUUUNNNNN tune in next time to see her life start to slowly deteriorate!**

**Quote: "Peace, love Twilight." A flair button on facebook. It's like my motto.**

**Fact: 'J' is the only letter not on the periodic table**


	9. Unravel like a ribbon

**DISCAIMER: as much as I wish I was, I am NOT Stephenie Meyer, and I own nothing from this story except the Fei and the plot twists.**

**Summary: What if, in the Twilight world, there had been another supernatural race? Namely the Fei? Now they exist, and the twin Fei Guards who befriend Bella might possibly stir up all new enemies… Begins Bella's first day of school, from the Fei's POV's**

**.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.**

When I woke up in the morning, Hunter was standing over me, enraged.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!?!?!?!" he nearly shrieked, shocking Aura awake. She growled softly at him and burrowed closer to my side. FEAR, CONFUSION.

"Hunter, I can explain—"

"NO!!!! YOU HAVE A FRIGGIN'_ BABY DRAKK _SNUGGLED UP TO YOU!!! DON'T YOU REMEMBER THE DRAKK THAT ALMOST KILLED US?!?!"

"Yes, Hunter, but—"

"_NO BUTS!"_ he shouted physically and mentally. "THAT MONSTER IS _OUT_ OF HERE!"

He reached down to grab Aura, and a blinding rage filled me. I smacked his hand away. "Don't you _**DARE**_" I hissed, glaring at him and baring my teeth, my hands curled into claws. _Aura, get on my back. Now. _

Just as she climbed on, Hunter wrenched me around to get to her. My Aura, my Drakk, my baby. "_**NO!!!**_" I bellowed, so loud Aura flinched and it hurt my ears. I spun and aimed a roundhouse at his gut, but he caught my foot and spun my ankle. I landed on my chest, barely catching myself, and kicked out. I felt my foot connect with his stomach, and I pulled aside my suit while he was doubled over, ushering Aura inside. The suit finished sealing and I turned to face Hunter in time for a punch to land square on my jaw. I felt the bone pop and snap, and I could tell he'd put all of his muscle behind it. Tears welled in my eyes, and I did something I've never done before. I grabbed the collar of Hunter's shirt, hauled him up so he was on the wall, and snapped my knee up into his groin as hard as I could possibly stand to. He screamed in agony and I felt terrible. Or at least I felt terrible until he came at me _again._

This time I needed something so harsh, I could barely think it to myself.

Something that would shape the rest of our lives.

I had to leave, for good. I had to leave the one person I'd thought understood me the best, who shared my blood and soul, because he was trying to kill someone I loved.

I realized this was the only option, so I steeled myself and locked my heart away.

With that, I turned and leapt through my only escape route, the window. I was almost all the way out when Hunter latched on to my foot and started dragging me in. "You ASSHOLE!!!" I shouted, "Leave me ALONE!! I _**HATE**_ you, and I'm leaving. If I never see your sorry face again, it'll be TOO SOON!!!" my harsh words shocked and hurt Hunter so immensely that his grip slackened and I was able to pull free. I fell to the ground, where I sprinted off into the forest, making huge, leaping bounds and dousing my trail with water to hide every trace of my scent. Tears streamed from my eyes as I ran, and I tried to write it off as the wind, but the tiny part of me still connected to Hunter reminded me of the pain I had caused him, the immense heartache he would no doubt endure. For the benefit of the both of us, I fiercely shut my barriers as tightly as I could, completely severing all of my ties to who I had been, except for one. Aura was the only one that mattered to me now, the only one I loved.

My so-called _brother,_ the murderer, was now my number one most hated person. I had trusted to help me raise my baby, my Aura, and to understand _why_ I just _couldn't_ leave her to die. Just like I couldn't let her be thrust out into the world on her first day hatched, motherless, for she would surely die. I loved her, and I held her life above my own. No one would understand.

_Unless…_ I didn't even want to hope, the way my life had turned. Alice _might_ understand; Esmé would be afraid and feel nothing but her fear, but Rosalie would almost definitely understand.

Aura had been scarily silent through the whole ordeal, and I checked nervously on her, sighing in relief when I realized she was sleep, tucked cozily into the suit with her head again resting on my heart. I smiled a watery smile, and realized I was within my 'hearing' range of the Cullens' house. I probed for Rosalie's mind and found her locked in her room with Emmet, taking care of personal stuff, as my mom would say. I did not need to her that. Quickly, I withdrew mostly to myself, only allowing the tiniest thread to link her and I, that way I could get the gist of her emotions without actually hearing anything.

The bark that dug into my back as I slid down the tree to sit at its base gave me grim satisfaction, I made sure to shove against the tree as I moved down. Maybe it's sick, but my own, physical pain made me feel less of the mental anguish. I settled in for the wait, my fingernails poised over my inner arm in case of another wave of anguish hit. The physical was so much better than the mental; I didn't know why I hadn't figured this out before.

_Because you have never been this hurt, silly._ A voice in my head whispered. One already in my head, not being received. _Leaving Hunter was the hardest thing you've ever done._

The voice was right. I couldn't just call it _the voice_ though, I realized, when a second joined in.

_It was even harder than dealing with causing Artemis's death._ With the name Artemis, as always, a huge wave of anguish crashed over me. I realized the second voice was right, though, when the anguish seemed like nothing compared to what I'd felt when I had told Hunter I'd hated him. I buried my face in my arms and smothered a sob, accidently waking Aura. I hastily composed myself. I would _not_ let her see me like this.

_Hey, sweetie, sorry to wake you._

_CONCERN. SADNESS. ANGER. COMFORT. LOVE._

_I love you too, Aura. _I nuzzled her forehead and then kissed the top of her head. Rosalie's emotions suddenly shifted, and I opened myself a bit to see why. _Thank the Father,_ I thought, _they're done._

_Rosalie?_ I asked her, my mind entwined enough with hers for her to feel my pain, _I need your help._

**.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.**

**A/N: I'm sorry, I had to. The story was too much bunnies-and-rainbows. **

**Oh, and anyone recognize the last bit? Or the bones of it, anyway?**

**Quote: "I'LL MELT YOU IN MY CRAZY!!!!" – A friend of mine.**

**Fact: a human egg is the size of a size twelve period.**


	10. Artemis Revealed

**DISCAIMER: as much as I wish I was, I am NOT Stephenie Meyer, and I own nothing from this story except the Fei and the plot twists.**

**Summary: What if, in the Twilight world, there had been another supernatural race? Namely the Fei? Now they exist, and the twin Fei Guards who befriend Bella might possibly stir up all new enemies… Begins Bella's first day of school, from the Fei's POV's**

**.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.**

Rosalie opened the door to the mansion and peered anxiously outside.

_Over here._ She looked directly at me and her eyes widened, her jaw falling slack. She shot over, dropping to her knees right in front of me to place her hands on my soaking cheeks. I flinched when her palm toughed my sore jaw and she gasped as she took in my huge bruise. I saw myself reflected in her vibrant thoughts; saw the gargantuan purple blob on my face, extending from my chin, to the back of my jaw, and up to brush my left cheekbone. The deep grape color was webbed with deep red vessels, the angry color feeling fevered to her touch.

"What _happened_ to you?" she whispered, horrified, as I pushed up my right sleeve to reveal the matching handprint. In response, I pulled the sleeping Aura from my suit and told her what had happened.

"I was just so _confused._ And mad. He was trying to hurt her, my baby." I pulled Aura close to me and tucked her head into the nook where my neck and shoulder met. Rosalie reached out and stroked Aura, causing her to stir. She blinked sleepily at Rosalie, cocking her head curiously. CURUOUS, HAPPY.

"She likes you." I whispered, smiling through my tears. Rosalie saw and ushered me into the house, handing me a tissue. We went upstairs and sat on her bed, conversing in the lowest tones we could manage. I mentioned Alice's vision, and Rosalie called her in.

"Sage!" she gasped, running over to inspect my face. "What happened?"

"Hunter found out about Aura."

"Aura?"

"The baby Drakk."

Aura peeked around me, meeting Alice's gaze evenly. She then stepped forward and butted her forehead against Alice's outstretched hand, turning her head to be scratched just below her jaw. Alice's face melted, and she lifted Aura for a hug.

"it suits her, especially with what she'll be able to see and do." Alice grinned at me, but the sight of my face wiped her mood away. "so, can you _show_ us what happened? You don't have to," she rushed to say, seeing my face crumple in pain, "but I think it would do you good to tell someone."

I couldn't deny the wisdom in that, so I grabbed one of each of their hands and dredged up the memory of this morning I'd tried so hard to bury. I was sucked in, reliving the nightmare. When I came to the part of my thoughts of Artemis, my thoughts turned unbidden to that night. The night I had caused my own sister, the triplet to Hunter's and my twins, to be cruelly tortured and killed, while Hunter and I had stood restrained, unable to save her no matter how hard we'd tried. The scent of the dank cobblestoned street we'd been ambushed on filled my nostrils, and I saw Hunter and Artemis next to me. Abruptly I shut my barriers, forcing myself to relive this alone. I couldn't let anyone know my part in it, I couldn't stand to.

"_c'mon, Artemis. Or are you chicken?" I had asked, prancing in a circle around her and making chicken noises. Fear shone in her eyes, genuine terror, but she had forced her way past me and grabbed a bottle from a sleeping homeless man, draining it. _

_I should have seen the signs, should have noticed the homeless man's pure black eyes and intricate, spider webbing black veins that were so obvious in the flashback. I should have thrown fire at the Daemon King as soon as he left his host, all twenty feet of his inky and insubstantial skin, should have thrown myself into the foul creature's grasp to save her._

_Artemis screamed as it lifted her into the air and slammed her against the wall, breaking some ribs. So slowly, the Daemon King leeched her life force from her, feeding from her fear and pain as much as on her soul. He sliced her skin at various places, rending muscle in two. He snapped every bone in her body, one at a time, ll while holding us against the wall with his hypnosis. Hunter and I had been forced to watch as Artemis aged from twelve, to sixteen, to twenty, to thirty, her body maturing into all its glory, but deteriorating to that of an ancient crone within what had felt like hours, but were only minutes. She had screamed and screamed, clawing at the insubstantial hand pressing her to the wall. Her skin had withered, her eyes had shrunk in, her joints had bulged, and suddenly she was silent. Her mouth had fallen slack and her eyes had disintegrated, before she crumbled into dust. The Daemon King had laughed, the sound sending chills through my otherwise immobile body. I had felt the rage building in me and grabbed Hunter's hand, surprised that I could move. I'd stepped forward, feeling as if leads weights were attached to my feet. The farther from the previous spot I'd gotten, the easier it was to move. When I had been nearly back to normal, the Daemon King had turned and leapt at me. I had evaded its attack, my fury sharpening my senses. I had set the Daemon ablaze, the only way to kill it. _

_Hunter had helped as soon as he could, and we killed it. I'd scooped Artemis's ashes into her discarded clutch, handmade and dear to her. Hunter and I had held each other as we'd cried over the loss of our sister; ripped from life with only twelve years in it. To this day I couldn't stand the song "who you'd be today", it made me sob uncontrollably. _

As I came back from the gripping 'daymare' I was conscious of three pairs of hands on me, three different breathing patterns. Alice, with her quick, light breaths and feathery touch, sat to the right of where I sat curled in a fetal position. Rosalie and her agitated breaths sat beneath me, rubbing my leg softly. And …_Esmé_ (?!?!) stood to my left, breathing calmly and holding my hand. I groaned, and all three stopped breathing.

"Sage?" Alice asked, wary. I'd obviously freaked them.

"It's fine, that happens sometimes. Bad memory." I smiled sheepishly. WORRY JOY RELEIF.

_Where's Aura? _I asked Rosalie.

_Call me Rose. She left to get some food, I think. She told me she was hungry and flew out the window._ She shrugged.

I turned to Alice. _ Was Esmé alright with Aura?_

_She's a bit wary but completely taken with her. They'll be good friends. _ She showed me vision of Esmé and a much larger Aura sitting together in a field, smiling toward the sunset.

"Hey, Esmé, long time no see." She laughed and patted the back of my hand.

"I must say little Aura is charming. So good, unlike the vile creature that carried her."

"Thank you, Esmé, I'm sure she'll be glad to hear that you like her." I smiled up at her and she kissed my cheek quickly. Just then, Aura came scrambling back in the window and plopped down beside me on the bed, licking her scales clean. I hugged her to me and realized while my life had sunk to abysmal depths, I still had some pinpoints of light to keep me sane.

**.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.**

**A/N: okay, I can't handle **_**too**_** much depressing stuff, so her life'll improve a bit now.**

**Quote: "The average woman would rather have beauty than brains, because the average man can see better than he can think." **

**Or, for the guys, "Son, if you really want something in this life, you have to work for it. Now quiet! They're about to announce the lottery numbers" – betcha can't guess!!!**

**Fact: when landing from even a short hop, the average child exerts ½ ton of pressure on each leg, which is channeled to the solid part of the femur…which happens to be stronger than **

**concrete.**


	11. Back to Normalish

**DISCAIMER: as much as I wish I was, I am NOT Stephenie Meyer, and I own nothing from this story except the Fei and the plot twists.**

**Summary: What if, in the Twilight world, there had been another supernatural race? Namely the Fei? Now they exist, and the twin Fei Guards who befriend Bella might possibly stir up all new enemies… Begins Bella's first day of school, from the Fei's POV's**

**.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.**

"So…" I Began, to end the awkward silence filled only by the rhythmic rasp of Aura's tongue over her scaled, and her occasional snort as a scale rubbed her snout wrong. "…How long was I out?" I had noticed the change in Rosalie's and Alice's clothes, from their school outfits to their hunting jeans. Their eyes had been nearly the same tone as Bella's, just a shade darker, when I had shown them my fight with…Him. Aura was also almost a foot longer than then, a bit more adult in her proportions.

"It's Friday, Sage." Alice stroked my arm a bit more, trying to comfort me.

"I've been out _three days?_" I whispered, shocked. It hadn't seemed that long.

"You were crying out after you blocked us, and we were concerned, so we moved you to lie down. You stopped after a while, but also stopped breathing. Your heart faltered once, and nearly stopped, but when Carlisle tried to rouse you, you hissed and your heart fell into rhythm again. We let you be for awhile, and just about five minutes ago you stopped breathing again, only to wake up." Rose commented, an unusually long speech for her.

I rolled over and tried to stand. My brain complained at the vertical position and I suddenly dizzied, sitting heavily back on the bed. "Woah, not quite so fast," Esmé said, coming to stand beside me and lifting me slowly by the elbow. I leaned on her a bit, weal from lack of food. She made a worried noise and fluttered around, not knowing what to do. My stomach growled loudly and I laughed, along with all the others. We trailed to the kitchen where Esmé offered to make me Waffles and Sausage. I scarfed them down.

"Hey, these are _good._" I smiled at Esmé, "I'm not much of a cook, and it's nice to eat some real food, some good food."

Esmé beamed and I washed my dishes quickly. When I emerged from the kitchen, Alice was coming in the doorway with another outfit for me draped over her arm. I slipped it on and watched as she applied concealer to the immense but fading bruise on my face, dimming it to be only noticeable by Supes. The outfit's long-sleeved, pale green, under armor-like undershirt with a cropped black jacket I didn't know I had and some dark skinny jeans allowed me to wear my suit under the outfit if I wanted to, but I needed to change for P.E., so I left it draped over a chair in the guest bedroom the Cullens had lent me.

Rose insisted we _all_ take the Volvo, so I slid in the back between Jasper and the window. Alice took his other side, while Emmet sat shotgun. Roslie drove with cution, but still with incredible speed, something I admired. We pulled into the parking lot and I slipped out, sprinting to Bella and pulling her into a hug.

"Where'd you go?" she asked, happiness in her voice. "I was worried."

"I probably should have called in…I went and hurt my ankle so bad I couldn't walk," I leaned closer and whispered, "or at least that's my story. Hunter and I had a huge fight, and I ran. I couldn't face coming back until now."

She gave me a sympathetic look. "what over?"

"I'll tell you after school." Wait, I could do better. "No, I'll _show_ you after school."

"alright…" she looked a bit confused, but just then the bell rang. We hurried to class and Bella asked me for a clue.

"Think Dragon." I raised my eyebrows on the second word, emphasizing it slightly. Bella gasped very quietly and tore a sheet out of her notebook. She scribbled furiously on it, and then passed it to me.

**What?! You never told me dragons exist!**

I sighed and scribbled my response, that I hadn't known until the night before I revealed myself to her, and I hadn't wanted to overwhelm her.

**Don't ever worry about overwhelming me**

**I'm tough, Sage.**

I know that, I worry about you still, though. We've

never revealed ourselves before, except to the Cullens.

**Wow, you are chummy with them. **

Don't worry, you will be eventually, too.

**What's that supposed to mean?**

Nothing…………….yet.

Mr. Mason called on me and I plucked the answer from his head again, not having heard the question. I shoved the sheet of paper into my all-class binder and grinned at Bella. She smiled back and we decided to actually take notes. Well, she did. I doodled.

In art, I painted Wraith, having finished Ava, Hunter, and Ian. He was poised to strike at the Daemon Underling in front of him, his element curling around him. We all were in fighting poses, engaged in multiple battles in the same war, the one we were sent to in order to graduate First Training. I absently peeked at Hunter's woodcarving, surprised to see the realistic figure of the Werewolf he was carving. He usually carved tamer beings, like deer or normal wolves, not Supes. I was enchanted by the little figurine, more so than usual.

When the final bell rang, I walked back to the Volvo to tell the Cullens I wouldn't be riding back just yet, but I'd meet them at their house. I jogged into the woods and a heavy, shimmering object dropped on me.

**.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.**

**A/N: I'm thinking about letting Sage forgive Hunter, but I'm not sure…Review and tell me your opinion!**

**P.S. – sorry I haven't updated in a while, my 'net was down.**

**Quote: "Friendship is like peeing on yourself: everyone can see it, but only you get the warm feeling that it brings."**

**Fact: slugs have 4 noses :)**


	12. Aura, Bella Bella, Aura

**DISCAIMER: as much as I wish I was, I am NOT Stephenie Meyer, and I own nothing from this story except the Fei and the plot twists.**

**Summary: What if, in the Twilight world, there had been another supernatural race? Namely the Fei? Now they exist, and the twin Fei Guards who befriend Bella might possibly stir up all new enemies… Begins Bella's first day of school, from the Fei's POV's**

**.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.**

"Aura!" I exclaimed, hugging her, "There's someone who wants to meet you. Stay here and I'll go get her, okay?"

Aura bobbed her head. HAPPY. I jogged back out and found Bella getting into her truck.

"So, you want to see her?" I bounced in place, excited. Bella looked confused for a minute, probably trying to figure out who I meant. She bit her lip as she pondered for those six-and-a-half seconds before her eyes brightened with remembrance.

"You mean your dragon?" she asked just a bit too loudly, and I shushed her gently. She muttered an apology and I led her to the encroaching forest to meet my Baby, my Aura.

As soon as I entered the trees, I heard Aura's chirping. Looking above me, I spotted her about seven feet above my head in a tree. _Come on down, sweetie. This is Bella._ She maneuvered her way down the tree and into my arms, where she hummed contentedly. Bella stretched a hand out as if to pet Aura, and I reassured her.

"Don't worry; she knows you're no danger." HAPPY, CURIOUS. Bella reached out and skimmed her fingers over Aura's scales, the light refracting from them onto her fingertips. Aura thrummed again, butted Bella's hand, and cocked her head to the side in an extremely good imitation of my puppy dog face. I laughed. Bella smiled at her and scratched her under the jaw, melting. Aura shook herself out of my arms and hovered in front of us.

I turned to Bella and asked her, spur-of-the-moment, if she wanted to hang out and see a movie. We walked to her truck, and I directed her to my favorite theatre, a small one just outside Port Angeles.

"Wow, cook seats." Bella stroked the teal, cotton upholstered seat and sat, sighing as she sank into the worn chairs. I sat in my lime green chair to her left, reclining to get more comfortable. The lights dimmed, and the previews started.

Almost two hours later, two hours filled with fighting, sarcastic comments, and suspense-filled scenes, Bella and I walked out of the theatre.

"Remember when that dude exploded?!?!" I heard from a guy off to my left, who was chatting with his friends. Bella and I shared a laugh, and then strolled to the ice creamery down the road. I paid for our ice creams, my blue moon and raspberry sorbet, her rocky road and cookie dough. Bella found some benches near a wooded grove, and Aura flew barely into the tree line to be near me. I offered her licks of my ice cream, and each time it was the same. Sniff, lick, and jump. Sniff, lick, and jump.

We ate in silence, the only interfering sound faint and distant. Out of nowhere, a thought occurred to me.

"I know why I can't hear your mind, or connect to it."

Bella jumped at the sudden noise, so close to her, but calmly replied "Why is it, then?"

"When most people are born, their mental barriers are locked down. They're there, but blocked from use." I picked a stone and a leaf from the ground, holding the stone over the leaf to prove my point. "But _you,_ your shields are locked _up._" I covered the stone with the leaf.

"Can I change that?"

"I'm pretty sure, with practice; you could lower your barriers. Maybe you could even influence others' up!" I chuckled, whispering under my breath "_man, the volturi would love that."_

She sat still as I stared at her, messing with her cone but otherwise statuesque. Her hair blew around her face in the breeze, and she shivered. I stood quickly and helped her to her feet, ignoring her protests.

"Seriously, I'm n-n-no-not c-cold."

"Bull, Bella. You're shivering." I took her now finished cone and tossed it, regretting the choice of snack. I walked her to her car and insisted on driving so she could hold the tiny fire I'd conjured her.

"oh," she said, turning to look at me, "Before I forget. Why don't you come spend the night tomorrow night? Charlie'd love to meet you."

I gulped, but agreed to come over at 5. _This'll be intresting…_

**.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.**

**A/N: FILLER CHAPTER, sorry.**

**P.S. – I'm running out of steam, I need ideas!! Review, plz.**

**Quote: "Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway."**

**Fact: In the year 2000, Pope John Paul II was named an "Honorary Harlem Globetrotter."!**


	13. Ian's Comfort

**DISCAIMER: as much as I wish I was, I am NOT Stephenie Meyer, and I own nothing from this story except the Fei and the plot twists.**

**Summary: What if, in the Twilight world, there had been another supernatural race? Namely the Fei? Now they exist, and the twin Fei Guards who befriend Bella might possibly stir up all new enemies… Begins Bella's first day of school, from the Fei's POV's**

**.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.**

I fell into my bed at the Cullens' with a sigh that night. I shouldn't be so worried about staying at Bella's, I held my human façade relatively well at school, surrounded by hundreds of kids, all appearing my age…why should being around just one uninformed human be a problem? A knock roused me from images of Charlie walking in on me using the elements, of the Elders executing or turning Charlie, and of Bella running from me with tear-filled eyes.

"Come in!" I called, running a hand through my hair. His familiar scent curled around me just as the person entered the room, and I growled quietly, tensing.

"It's me." The voice and the scent didn't match, His voice was mire lilting, less husky. I turned to face the other person in my room and stood face-to-face with Ian, who was wearing Hunter's shirt and shorts. Well, his face actually only reached my chin, but whatever. Tears stung the backs of my eyes as the small, traitorous hope I'd had that it _was_ Him, Hunter, extinguished. Ian looked at me, unspeaking, and then his face crumpled in sympathy. I felt the tears start to slide slowly from my eyes, and I threw my hand up to hide them. He walked over and hugged me tight, letting me bury my head in his hair. He led me to my bed and sat me down, pulling me close to him and letting me blubber all over his shirt. He stroked my hair and whispered reassurances in my ear as I sat. The tears streamed steadily, silently, for what seemed like forever.

Finally, I cried myself out and felt Ian take a deep breath and peer at me, trying to decide whether I was finished crying.

"I'm done," I rasped, my throat raw from the restrained sobs, "and I'm sorry for that, I don't know what came over me."

"it's alright, Sage. I know you must really be hurting. Both you and Hunter overreacted, and look where that's gotten you two, huh?" Ian shifted from stroking my hair to holding my hand, my small one matching somewhat with his average-for-him sized hand. He looked into my eyes and said, "I promise you, Hun, this'll all work out. Most things do." He smiled wryly and I managed a watery smile back at him. I put my free hand to my face and felt the terrible heat of my cheeks and eyes. They must have been red as cherries, the way I had been crying. I sheepishly smiled at Ian, before rising to my feet.

"So what brings you back out here? I thought you were assigned to a mission in LA." He looked down for a second, and murmured something too low for me to catch. "What?"

"I'm supposed to be there, but I wanted to hang with you two for a while." He blushed, and I realized there was much more to the story. I didn't pry, though, figuring he'd tell me when he wanted to. I simply smiled, genuinely this time, and asked why he was wearing Hunter's clothes. He blushed harder, and stammered, "m-mine go-got wet."

Hmmm…

I yawned massively, "I'm gonna turn in, Ian. You're welcome to stay, I'm sure." He smiled at me again and I moved to go change in the bathroom, bringing my pajama shorts and tank with me. The smooth, mottled green fabric slid against my skin as I pulled the shorts on, the worn white tank molding to my torso. I threw my hair up into a high pony and went through the whole brush-and-wash routine. The door was closed when I got back to my room, so I paused a moment before striding in.

"Hey" Ian exclaimed, whirling around. He was only wearing his boxers, green shamrocks on a gold background. His muscled chest was gleaming in the dim lighting, the fine hairs on his chest shining copper.

"Sorry, Sorry!" I backed up a step, but Ian laughed.

"Come on in, it's not like I'm naked. You've seen that before in training, so why should I be embarrassed now?" it was true, Captain had made us do odd things constantly, from 'pass the orange' to practicing fighting naked once while we waited for our suits. He claimed every class had to, and Chief backed it up. I laughed, too, and walked the rest of the way into the room. Ian slipped into the bed, and I stopped moving.

"What are you doing?" I eyed his still exposed chest warily.

"I didn't want to leave you alone tonight, you seemed like you could use some company." His eyes were full of nothing but sincerity, and I had to smile yet again. His sweet nature could thaw even the coldest heart. I pulled back the covers and slipped in next to him, allowing him to pull me against his chest. I melted into the semi-familiar embrace, finding comfort in a warm arm cross my stomach. His breathing slowed, getting more rhythmic, and I knew he was falling asleep.

"Ian?"

"Huh?"

"How…How is he?" Ian stirred and propped himself up on one elbow, turning me to face him. "Tell me the whole truth, please."

"The truth? He's depressed, Sage. As bad – if not worse – than you are right now. He mopes around the house before he goes to school, and when he gets home. Then when he goes to sleep, he talks. Not just about Supes and battles like he normally does, but about you. He constantly says your name, and that he's sorry." Ian touched my cheek, all business. "I think you should forgive him, Sage."

That hit home. I never could stand to see Hunter in pain. Even if he _did_ threaten my baby's life…

Aura scratched on the window just then, and I went to open it for her. Ian gasped as we came back into view, scrambling into a fighting stance.

"Sage, there's a Drakk on your shoulder."

"Who, Aura? Yeah, I know, I saved her from the battle when we killed her mom. That's why Hunter and I fought, he thinks I should get rid of her." My voice took on a dangerous tone toward the end, when I thought about Hunter trying to hurt Aura. Ian relaxed slightly, sitting on the bed. I brought Aura nearer to him and his shoulders tightened. "She's not evil, Ian, she's different. We have a link, we can hear each others' thoughts."

"I didn't know that." He shook himself. "I guess I'm prejudiced."

I brought her all the way to him this time, ignoring his tensing. She reached her neck out and delicately sniffed his rigid shoulder, before thrumming and sounding a quick, melodious call. I stroked her head once absently and Ian lifted his hand to follow my example. Aura butted his hand, as per her usual and Ian, just like Bella, melted. "Hey, there. You're pretty sweet." He cooed to her, rubbing the top of her head. She licked his palm and leapt from my arms, landing neatly on the bed and squawking for me to join her. Ian laughed.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." I slid beneath the sheets again and pulled her to my chest just as Ian pulled me to his. Quick, quiet goodnights were said, and we tumbled into the black abyss that was sleep.

**.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.**

**A/N: Hmmm…..What to say, what to say. Uhh…review?**

**P.S. – haven't gotten any ideas for a brighter story but Edward is coming back chapter after next so it'll pick up a bit. **

**Quote: "****Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we." – G.W. Bush**

**Fact: Alaska law says that you can't look at a moose from an airplane.**


	14. Fluffy fun!

**DISCAIMER: as much as I wish I was, I am NOT Stephenie Meyer, and I own nothing from this story except the Fei and the plot twists.**

**Summary: What if, in the Twilight world, there had been another supernatural race? Namely the Fei? Now they exist, and the twin Fei Guards who befriend Bella might possibly stir up all new enemies… Begins Bella's first day of school, from the Fei's POV's**

**.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.**

I felt guilty in the morning as the sunlight filled me with joy, knowing Hunter wouldn't be feeling it. I still had that part of me thet yearned to connect with the familiar presence of his mind, to share every thought and emotion I had with him. Ian stirred beside me, having flipped to his other side and done a complete 180 sometime during the night, leaving his feet by my head and vice versa. I stretched my fingers out just enough to drag them lightly along the inner edge of his arch, just where one was most ticklish. He flicked his food and mumbled.

I giggled to myself and again tickled his foot, causing him to kick out and throw his weight accidentally, sending him to the floor. I chortled a laugh, and he glared at me, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Aww, Come on Sage. I was having the best dream."

"What was it about that made it so great?" I raised one eyebrow and lowered the other, a true talent by Hunter's account. Ian blushed and let out a guilty laugh, rubbing the back of his now-pink neck.

"Hot tub." Liar. I stared at him while he fidgeted, "Stop, Sage. That's really creepy. Ok, it was me and someone else in a hot tub…" he trailed off and his color darkened to bright red.

I laughed again and helped him to his feet. "Boys will be boys!" I reminded him, grinning. The sun was really going to my head, making me euphoric. Ian looked at me quizzically, not knowing where my mood came from.

"How can you be this happy this early? You're crazy, you know that?"

"Yup! Loonier than Loony Toons." I announced cheerily. He rolled his eyes and pulled his shirt over his head.

The closet door clicked behind me as I shut it, pulling some of the clothes Alice had insisted on placing in outfits in cubbies from their places: a _short _black dress, about ¼ the way down my thigh not including the inch-and-a-half ruffle on the bottom, a thick emerald belt and matching shrug, and some black heels with green buttons on the side. I pulled some cheer shorts on underneath the dress to protect me from flashing my underwear at anyone, and I was ready to go.

Ian whistled when I stepped out, long and low. I blushed and spun in a small circle to flare the dress Marylyn Monroe-style, complete with pushing the front of the dress down. He laughed and opened the door, making a shallow bow.

"M'lady." He swept his arm toward the door but I saw his mouth twist up in a semi-mocking smile. I curtsied to him as I passed, as deep as I could, and retorted.

"Thank you, Monsieur." I took on a fake French accent and swept past him as regally as I could, not as difficult as I had expected in five inch 'supermodel heels'. I smelled bacon cooking and rushed down the stairs as fast as I dared, Ian darting ahead of me. We sat and said thanks to Esmé, The Mother, and The Father for the meal.

Ian finished way before I did, having shoveled the food into his mouth without bothering to chew. I laughed again and ran from the kitchen (once I'd cleared my plate of course), beating Ian to the clearing by seconds. He skidded to a halt behind me and I pulled the shoes off so I could move better. Sure enough, as soon as I stood Ian launched his compact frame at me, sending me to the ground. We wrestled playfully as we had many times with all of our Teammates, our laughter echoing off the surrounding trees. Out of nowhere, he leapt to his feet and jumped, sailing away. I followed him, manipulating the ir currents to keep me aloft longer. He jumped from place to place, me right on his heels, until we reached a smaller mountain. I don't know where we were, but Ian seemed to. He scaled it quickly and again I followed. The rock screeched in protest as he lifted a pillar of stone just beneath us to get us even higher. The pillar shuddered and shook, rock fragments tumbling down.

Eventually we halted, and he leapt as far as he could, so fast I nearly lost sight of him.

_Oh, I get it. The greater the height, the longer the flight. _I launched myself after him, projecting wooden slabs from my arms which connected to my hipbones to create a glider of sorts. A gusting tailwind sent me shooting forward and next to Ian, where I saw he had done something similar. We flew as long as we could, turning back toward the Cullens' when we really began to lose altitude. I landed on the roof with inches to spare, he overshot and dropped to the ground. We both released the wood on our arms into seeds, scattering them with a breath of wind. I slid in my window, realizing I'd left my shoes in the meadow. I groaned and shot off again, shouting to Ian "Gotta get my shoes!"

They were sitting just where I left them, in the same position, but I couldn't help thinking something was different. Not the placement, not the color…_the scent._ They smelled like…like…

His scent wafted to me and I froze, a startled snarl slipping from between my teeth. _Hunter._

I'm not proud of what I did next. I turned and ran with the shoes, not stopping until I was locked in my room. Aura lifted her head from her forelegs and sniffed at me, stiffening. _TRAITOR!_

_No, baby, I ran into him when I went to grab my shoes. I have no intention of talking to him for a _long_ time._

SATISFIED.

"I'm going to fix myself up really quick, then we'll go out. Okay?" I turned to the sink and primped, tugging the shoes back on. Aura came over and nuzzled my legs I stood there, so I picked her up. I peered at the clock and was shocked. _Noon already?_ FUNNY.

I smiled at Aura and lifted her from the sink, bringing her down the stairs and out the front door. We ran (well I ran, she flew) through the fields of what would be tall grasses, just enjoying ourselves. Four and a half hours later I packed up my clothes and walked to Bella's with a quick goodbye to Aura. Charlie answered the door and I gulped.

_Here it goes…_

**.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.**

**A/N: EDWARD RETURNS NEXT CHAPTER!!!**

**Review!!**

**Quote: No, please don't eat me. I have a wife and kids, eat them. – Homer**

**Fact: The king of hearts is the only king without a moustache on a standard playing card!**

**Law:** **The English language is not to be spoken. (Illinois)**


	15. Return of the Vamp

**DISCAIMER: as much as I wish I was, I am NOT Stephenie Meyer, and I own nothing from this story except the Fei and the plot twists.**

**Summary: What if, in the Twilight world, there had been another supernatural race? Namely the Fei? Now they exist, and the twin Fei Guards who befriend Bella might possibly stir up all new enemies… Begins Bella's first day of school, from the Fei's POV's**

**.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.**

"Hello…" Charlie half-greeted me, half asked who the heck I was. I chuckled to myself.

"Hey, Chief Swan. I'm Sage Ward, Bella's friend? She said I could sleep over." I extended my hand and he grasped it, shaking firmly. I grinned at him and he smiled gently back, hearing Bella pound her way down the stairs. She shouted my name and Charlie stood to the side to allow me access to the house. I ran up and hugged Bella, careful not to hurt her. She grinned at me and led me to her room to set my small bag down.

"I wasn't sure you'd come, with Charlie…" she trailed off, looking at me. Perceptive of her to realize my discomfort around Charlie, though I myself had no idea why. I smiled sheepishly.

"I have no idea why I was nervous, but I wouldn't miss hanging with you. _Especially_ after Hunter…oh, well. Let's not let that particular cloud darken this visit." I shook myself slightly and pulled my iPod out of my back pocket, wiggling it slightly. "What do you say to some music?"

"Depends, what kind?" she looked really wary of the small green device, like it had a disease. I smiled gently and brought the small iPod to life, the programmed greeting scrawling across the screen. My techie friend from the Castle, Fleur, had completely overhauled the device. I didn't know how much memory it had now, but it held my close-to-three-thousand songs without complaint. It responded to voice commands, too, which ws convenient with the massive library.

I handed Bella my Nano and started listing genres and artists.

"Let's see…I have Country, Metal, Techno, Pop, R&B, Rap, Acoustic, Alternitive, Acapella, Big Band, 40's, 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's, Boy Band, Blues, Broadway, Rock, Classical, Dance, Death Metal, and Hip Hop, just to start. I have 3 Dorrs Down, Aaron Carter, ABBA, AC/DC, Alien Ant Farm, Cheryl Ladd, Toby Keith, Counting Crows-"

"I get it!" Bella exclaimed, eyes on the screen. I laughed and slid the iPod from her fingers, only to plug it into the wafer-thin speakers I had in my bag.

"It's name is Carl, don't ask me why." I turned to the speakers and said, annunciating, "Carl, play 'Lips of an Angel'. The Hinder one, not the Jack Ingram one."

The familiar guitar chords slid from the speakers, and a mass of pulsating colors projected from the top. I had Fleur to thank for those, too. Bella watched the image, wide-eyed.

"Go ahead, try it. Say 'Carl, play…' and fill in the song name. artist, too, if you know it." I gestured to her bedside table, where I'd set the Nano and speakers.

"Uhhh…Carl, play 'Clair de Lune' by Debussy." Huh. I hadn't taken her for a classical fan. She smiled widely as the strains of music started, and I rose.

"Shall we dance?" I asked, jokingly bowing. She stood, but shied away from my attempts to waltz, leaning against the wall instead.

"I don't dance."

"You _don't_ or _can't_?" I asked. "there's a HUGE difference."

"I can't, but wouldn't if I could." She smiled sheepishly. "I'm a Klutz, two left feet."

"Aww, come on. Even a klutz can waltz, it's easy. See? One, two, three. One, two, three." I held my hands up and made the motions with my feet. Side, ball-change. Side, ball-change. The song wasn't really a waltz, I had to alter my rhythm a bit to make up for the 4/4 time. Bella eyed me as I moved around the room, occasionally spinning or moving backward. "Easy-peasy." I announced, grabbing her hand. The song changed to _Valse Romantique_, a much better waltz song. I coached Bella through the moves as the hauntingly beautiful song filled the room, and soon I had her dancing.

"Wow, I'm impressed." she raised her eyebrows at me. "you actually taught me to dance."

I grinned at her, asking if it was as hard as she'd thought. She said no, and Charlie knocked on the door.

"Come in!" Charlie's face was hilarious as he took in the sight of us waltzing around. His jaw hung open, and he looked so incredibly amazed that we both burst out laughing.

"y-your Dancing! And well, at that!" he said proudly, smiling the whole time. "Wow."

"Want to cut in?" i started to step away and let him in, but he stopped me.

"No, no. go ahead, I can't." at my look, he clarified. "Dance, that is."

I sighed, and Bella laughed. "I can teach you, too, if you want."

"Where would I use it? Maybe next time, or whenever I get myself a girlfriend. I'll see you girls in the morning, I'm going to turn in. not too late, you hear?" we assured him we'd go to bed early and he left.

"How 'bout some dinner?" I asked her, pulling a bag from within my bigger bag and opening it to reveal a two liter bottle of my lemonade and some Fei pasta Chief'd taught me to make. Bella prodded the blue-green noodles with her fork, watching me eat. "Go on, it's really good. My Mom's old recipie." She picked up a small forkful and sampled it, rolling it in her mouth.

"What's the verdict?" she started at my question and nodded, smiling.

"it _is_ good. Weird, but good." She took another bite and swallowed before continuing. "What's in this?"

"a bunch of stuff. Cheese, a bunch of different noodles, some herbs, a tiny bit of fruit juice…oh, and some shredded chicken."

"Shredded chicken?"

"to make the flavor more even. Chunks are just so…chunky. Y'know?" she laughed at my lame explanation and finished her food.

≤:0~º÷΅Ψ΅÷º~0:≥

Monday morning, I ran into Hunter. Literally. I was heading to class, just like always, and he came barreling around the corner. We lay sprawled on the ground for a second, before I leapt to my feet and glared at him. He opened his mouth to apologize and I fled. Bella must've realized something was upsetting me, because she kept shooting me sympathetic glances. A paper nudged my arm and I opened it to see Bella's familiar scrawl.

**What happened? You seem down.**

_I'm fine, I just ran into Hunter is all. Then I ran when he tried to apologize._

**Why? Give him another chance, it's wrong for you two to be so angry at eachother.**

_I KNOW! But I don't want to risk Aura over it…_

We passed the note back and forth the entire period, and every class together until lunch. I'd added Mia during art, and started Newt. I heard Bella gasp quietly when we entered the crowded cafeteria, and I followed her gaze to the Cullens' table. More specifically, to the bronze haired boy sitting there.

"I guess Edward's back." I muttered in Bella's general direction, and she smiled at me.

And so it begins… sigh.

**.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.**

**A/N: Here we go! Sorry. My 'net crashed.**

**Review!!!**

**Quote: **

_There was a blonde who found herself sitting next to a Lawyer on an airplane. The lawyer just kept bugging the blonde wanting her to play a game of intelligence. Finally, the lawyer offered her 10 to 1 odds, and said every time the blonde could not answer one of his questions, she owed him $5, but every time he could not answer hers, he'd give her $50.00. The lawyer figured he could not lose, and the blonde reluctantly accepted._

The lawyer first asked, "What is the distance between the Earth and the nearest star?"

Without saying a word the blonde handed him $5. then the blonde asked, "What goes up a hill with 3 legs and comes back down the hill with 4 legs?"

Well, the lawyer looked puzzled. He took several hours, looking up everything he could on his laptop and even placing numerous air-to-ground phone calls trying to find the answer. Finally, angry and frustrated, he gave up and paid the blonde $50.00

The blonde put the $50 into her purse without comment, but the lawyer insisted, "What is the answer to your question?"

Without saying a word, the blonde handed him $5.

**-a friend via e-mail**

**Fact: There are over 58 million dogs in the U.S!**

**Law:** **It is considered an offense to open an umbrella on a street, for fear of spooking horses. (Alabama)**


	16. Loopy

**DISCAIMER: as much as I wish I was, I am NOT Stephenie Meyer, and I own nothing from this story except the Fei and the plot twists.**

**Summary: What if, in the Twilight world, there had been another supernatural race? Namely the Fei? Now they exist, and the twin Fei Guards who befriend Bella might possibly stir up all new enemies… Begins Bella's first day of school, from the Fei's POV's**

**.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.**

Bella wandered to the table in a daze, drifting slightly toward Edward before circling toward her own table. I followed her closely; I still wasn't sure just how in control of his thirst he was. The gold of his eyes glinted in the overhead lights as they tracked her movement nearly imperceptibly, his face still mostly toward his family. Alice touched Edward's hand as I watched and murmured something to him before grinning broadly and waving at me. I fluttered my fingers in return and sighed with relief as Bella dropped into her chair. We set our backpacks down and I nudged her.

"Howsabout we go get some food? I'm starved." She blinked up at me and slowly nodded, her eyes sliding to him from time to time. She followed me, though, as I made my way across the speckled tile of the Cafeteria. We wove our way past the people ordering actual cooked food and snagged some fruit, chips, and a drink from a snack area. "My treat." I smiled, taking the food from her and presenting it to the cashier. She gave me change for my $5 and I handed Bella's food back.

She ate slowly and numbly as I chatted animatedly with Jessica, completely ignoring Hunter. Mile prattled on about a War of the Snow, or something, which actually sounded fun. Imagine! Me in a snowball fight against _humans_! I chuckled to myself, so low that none of the humans could hear it. Hunter shot me a look, which I ignored. He rolled his eyes and that familiar way of his, and my heart throbbed painfully. I missed that. For a second, I almost let my ever present barriers down to apologize, but the sharp and stinging pain of his betrayal lashed me and the barriers shot back into place. I glared, seemingly unprovoked, at Hunter; the ice and venom in that simple look made him wince and look away, along with Mike and Eric. I knew why the later two were staring. The idiotic outfit Alice dressed me in barely covered my chest, the low, LOW scoop ending but an inch above the end of my sternum (not counting the little flap at the end…what's it called? Oh, yeah, the Xiphoid Process. Duh.) and the pants she shoved me into were tighter than my smartskin suit. I'd slid a hoodie on over, hiding the shirt and my butt, but the crowded Cafeteria was too warm for it so I took it off. Now the two guys were ogling me, and not in the way I was used to. I was usually looked at as intimidating, but now their thoughts told me I looked really sexy to their perverted minds. Bella pulled me into a conversation with her, finally, and I pulled myself from my thoughts.

"You're close to the Cullens, right?" she looked hopeful and kind of…strategic, like she ws plotting something.

"Yeah, you could say that. Why?"

"I just…never mind." Huh. Suspicious. The bell rang and Bella shot straight out of her chair, racing to the doors and smiling secretively as she saw the rain washing the snow away. I walked next to her as she wove between people on the sidewalk, dodging the tiny balls made of the remaining slush. We made it to the biology classroom unharmed and she suddenly faltered, slowing. I guessed that she was reliving her last time sitting next to him, feeling the hatred and fury radiating from him. I placed a gentle hand on her back and guided her in, trying as I would with anyone else to send calm thoughts to her.

_Rainbows, waterfalls, breezes, sunbathing… _I sent image after image, never feeling her relax. _Idiot,_ I told myself, _she can't hear you!_

Despite that, she eventually made it in and to her seat, where she promptly blushed at Edward. I rolled my eyes at the terrible start, her bringing all that blood to the surface, tempting him. He handled it very well, though, only showing the stress by gripping the edge of the table. His tone was light and even as he introduced himself, and hers was shy and sweet as she returned his greeting. Mr. Banner passed out the Root Tip slides and microscopes, telling us to get to work. I plucked the answers from his head swiftly and wrote the first one down. I dithered for a minute, gazing into the eyepiece. Hunter took it from me and peered in himself, then passed it back. we were civil to each other when we had to be, if nothing more. I heard Bella and Edward discussing her let's-leave-phoenix-and-move-to-forks reasoning and had to smile _so self-sacrificing…_the bell rang again and I set out.

≤:0~º÷΅Ψ΅÷º~0:≥

Bella could barely sit still when I walked her to her truck; I could feel the joy radiating from her. She grinned at me as I opened the door for her, and waved as I jogged away. Aura flew to me as soon as I passed the treeline and perched stoically on my shoulder, her long tail looping down around my torso. We exchanged love and happiness as I ran, her thrumming creating a nice melody to my rhythmic footfalls. I got to the room I was in at the Cullens before I broke down, the second time since Ian had come over, and just bawled. Silently, as if miming the movements, but bawling nonetheless. I felt so wretched over leaving Hunter, over cutting myself completely off, over not telling him, about so many things. I cried myself out and fell asleep, still in my clothes. Little did I know as I slept that Bella had a midnight visitor; Edward watched her sleep. I would find this creepy once his thoughts actually registered, but for now I slept, Aura curled next to me.

**.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.**

**A/N: Next chapter's the crash!**

**Review!!!**

**Quote: The 50-50-90 rule: Anytime you have a 50-50 chance of getting something right, there's a 90% probability you'll get it wrong. - Unknown**

**Fact: A 'jiffy' is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second!**

**Law****:**** It is considered an offense to push a live moose out of a moving airplane.(Alaska)**


	17. The Crash

**DISCAIMER: as much as I wish I was, I am NOT Stephenie Meyer, and I own nothing from this story except the Fei and the plot twists.**

**Summary: What if, in the Twilight world, there had been another supernatural race? Namely the Fei? Now they exist, and the twin Fei Guards who befriend Bella might possibly stir up all new enemies… Begins Bella's first day of school, from the Fei's POV's**

**.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.**

The morning light slipped beneath my closed eyelids, and I shot up. Aura grumbled at me and quickly fell back asleep, but the adrenaline in my veins prevented me from following her example. _Shoot! Homework!_ I flung the covers off of me and snatched my small backpack from the doorknob. My head pulsed from the quick movement and I collapsed back on the bed, my backpack knocking the wind out of me. I sat still for a moment, letting my lings refill, and noticed the odd quality to the light. It wasn't _quite_ as muted as usual…_ah, it's fogless today._ **HAPPY**. I chuckled, Aura was awake. She crawled over and perched on my shoulder, her new favorite roost. She wrapped her tail more securely than before around my chest and waist, firm but not to the point of discomfort. Her arms rested on my left shoulder, and her body/tail dropped to about rib level to wrap around my torso just below my breasts. It continued farther to loop around my stomach at the very thinnest part, and the very tip of her tail coiled back around a higher segment of her body to hold herself better. I usually pulled my hair over my right shoulder or put it up to avoid pulling, but those were the only accommodations I needed to make. Her hold stayed firm no matter which way I leaned, as I did now to focus on the problems before me. She fluttered her wings a tiny bit to stabilize herself and the corners of the page raised in the small breeze. I rushed to finish the problems on the paper, and the next ones, in the short time before I had to go to school and very nearly didn't make it. Edward was whistling in quick, complicated harmonies and intertwining pitches (something I would never be able to do) somewhere in the house, a classical song I had never heard before. Once in a while he'd pause and mutter, re-whistling the last second or two with small changes. I wondered what he could possibly be doing.

_Oh, I'm composing._ His thoughts rang in my head, matching his audible voice perfectly. I started and he mind-chuckled, the sound wrapping my head in amusement.

_Whoa, I forgot you read minds._ He laughed again, this time a bit more boisterously. _ This is pretty cool, I thought this subconscious-link-with-people thing only worked with Huner…_

_I didn't know about that either, until now. Or rather a few seconds ago. I'm sorry for your hardships with your brother. _

_Thanks, it's getting easier to deal, but it still hurts._

_Forgive him and it'll go away._

_You don't understand, it's complicated._

_How so? Show me. _I braced myself and did, this time forcefully wrenching myself out before I could relive Artemis' killing, or the Daemon King's possession of her body and stalking of us. To see the evel creature peering out of Artemis' dead eyes was a nightmare I frequently had. He must have felt that I was hiding something, because he probed at the barriers around the memory. Gently, but he still probed.

_Too painful, I can't. please don't ask me to, not today. Maybe in a happier time. _He seemed to accept this, or at least respect my decision.

_So how's Aura?_

I laughed at his change of subject, not subtle in the least. _She's good, smooth move._

_You'd better go, Alice is coming to play dress-up with you._ He withdrew from my mind and I from his, and sut=re enough Alice knocked on my door. She shoved another dress at me as I opened the door and I groaned. "Alice, the week's over and Edward knows."

"I know.,,I was just having so much fun dressing you every day, it makes me feel like you're part of the family and that's something I _really_ want and well…" her face liked so unbearably heartbroken that I had to slip the clothes on. I ditched the dress in favor of a skirt and tee, though. She dressed me in almost all black today, black leggings, a black leather miniskirt and cropped vest, and a black tee with some silver designing on the stomach. She cave me new earrings and such and I put them on. They were all silver with small black gem accents, and they were gorgeous. My right eyebrow glinted with the bar through its tail, the left side of my nose and the lobes of my ears glittered with the gems. My cartilage bar on my left was the same as my eyebrow bar, and my navel, though hidden, sported a silver moon pendant with two black gem stars. I smiled at myself in the mirror and caught sight of a picture I'd taped there before. A man, tattooed with scales, stood with his arms crossed over his chest and his forked tongue peeking out of his mouth. The tongue was highlighted bright yellow by my own hand, reminding me of my idea to fork my tongue. I wasn't as sure now as I was before, but still wanted to.

Alice knocked me backward onto the bed and slid black Birks on my feet, brand new ones I'd never seen before. I rolled my eyes and pulled my trenchcoat n as I left the room with a quick "Thanks, Alice!"

I decided to run today, the brisk air would definitely wake me up. I listened to the calls of the birds as my feet moved over the icy patches of ground without once slipping. When the school came into view I froze. My run-turned-leisurely-walk had made me arrive after the Cullens, and as I looked for Bella in the mass of panicked people, I saw the van. The van halted inches from Bella's truck, with the distinctive twin shapes of handprints in the side. I also saw Bella laying on the ground, wrapped in Edward's arms.

**.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.**

**A/N:SO TIRED!!!!!!! Lol d(.)b**

**Review!!!**

**Quote: Suburbs are areas where they cut down trees and then name the streets after them.**

**Fact:** **A fetus develops fingerprints at eighteen weeks!**

**Law****:**** Donkeys cannot sleep in bathtubs. (Arizona)**


	18. Da Hostubul

**DISCAIMER: as much as I wish I was, I am NOT Stephenie Meyer, and I own nothing from this story except the Fei and the plot twists.**

**Summary: What if, in the Twilight world, there had been another supernatural race? Namely the Fei? Now they exist, and the twin Fei Guards who befriend Bella might possibly stir up all new enemies… Begins Bella's first day of school, from the Fei's POV's**

**.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.**

_NO!!!_ I mind-shouted, way belatedly. The shock of the sight of Bella lying there, so still, froze me to my place as the EMT's arrived. It wasn't until I heard her voice that I unfroze, that I realized she was ok. My feet slapped the ground aggressively as I human-sprinted to her.

"Bella! Are you alright?!?!" I exclaimed, running my hands over her forehead and as much of her neck and back of her head as I could, feather light but looking for severe injury.

"Fine, fine. Don't worry, I'm not hurt." She tried to smile at me, but wound up scowling at an up-and-about Edward. He went and sat in the front seat of the ambulance just as Charlie came running up.

"Bella!" he yelled. Whoa, he sounded scared.

"I'm completely fine Char – Dad." She sighed. "There's nothing wrong with me." I rolled my eyes at her as Charlie turned to the nearest EMT for their opinion.

"You're telling me you aren't in the tiniest bit of pain after hitting the ground at about sixty miles an hour?" I raised my left – and only my left – eyebrow at her, "Liar."

"What?! I'm _not._" I just rolled my eyes again and followed as the man next to me rolled her into the back of the ambulance. We rode in silence for the first minute or two, only the sound of the equipment rolling in the cabinets breaking it. I snatched a rubber glove from the overhead bin and started fooling with it. I tied and untied the fingers, flipped it inside out and back, and slid it on and off. Finally, bored, I blew a lungful of air into it and squeezed the cuff so the air let out a sharp _SQUEAL_ as it released. Bella jumped, and I laughed at the expression on her face. So surprised and guilty, as if she'd been caught doing something bad. I grinned and let another squeal out of the glove, higher this time. We giggled when the EMT's up front grumbled, and pulled up to the hospital. I leapt out as soon as the vehicle stopped and had Bella out before the two were even around the car. I giggled at their shocked and angry-but-not looks, and lied.

"My mom's a Paramedic in New York. She taught me the ropes."

"Alright, don't do it again, though. It's our job." He gave me a stern look, just about as threatening as a butterfly. They rolled Bella in and I heard her mutter as she watched Edward stroll by of his own accord. She apparently hadn't put the pieces together yet, hadn't realized that Edward and his family were vampires. I smiled sadly as I thought of the awe she would have for him, once she truly _fell_ in love with him; how she would probably devote all of her time to him and only him. I'd be pushed aside, but if she was happy I could deal with it. She was wheeled to the ER and transferred to another gurney, so I sat at the end of the bed and waited for her to get back from her X-rays.

Tyler was wheeled back in shortly after her, and kept up a constant stream of apologies, ignoring Bella's assurances. She finally just gave up and pretended to fall asleep, somewhat quieting him. We lapsed in near silence again and I sat as still as I could and still appear human, Bella's feet in my lap. I smiled at Edward as he approached the end of the bed, and his mouth tilted up in response.

_How is she?_ He asked, concerned.

_Well. There's nothing wrong with her, she was right._ I rolled my eyes at him the same way I had at Bella not too long ago.

"Is she asleep?" he asked aloud, breaking our silently-stare-into-each-other's-eyes fest and 'waking' Bella. She glared at him as he fended off a few apologies of his own from Tyler, Edward asked Bella aloud, politely and humanly, how she was, and she gave him the same answer she'd given me.

"How come you aren't strapped to a gurney like the rest of us?" she tacked onto the end of her statement, still not guessing.

"It's all in who you know." He turned intestinally to look at the door out of the corner of his eye, no doubt waiting for Carlisle. "But don't worry, I came to spring you."

At that moment, Carlisle came around the corner and Bella's jaw dropped. I watched as she made the customary head-to-toe-to-head look-over. He did the same to her, but from a medical point of view. They exchanged pleasantries and he probed her skull. Carlisle and Edward bantered a bit in the secret way they had, and Bella was oblivious.

"Can't I go back to school?" Bella asked Carlisle, almost pleading.

"Maybe you should take it easy today." Always the doctor.

"Does _he _get to go to school?"

"Someone's got to spread the good news that we survived." Edward this time. Definitely smug.

"Actually," Carlisle interjected, "most of the school seems to be in the waiting room." Bella moaned and covered her face. "Do you want to stay?" he raised his eyebrows at her.

"No, no!" she launched herself out of bed and stumbled, falling right into Carlisle's arms. "I'm fine." She assured him.

"Take some Tylenol for the pain" he steadied her.

"It doesn't hurt that bad." She tried to sound indifferent, but I heard her getting exasperated.

"It sounds like you were extremely lucky." He smiled.

"Lucky Edward happened to be standing next to me." She shot a glance at Edward, sitting silently on the next bed.

"Oh, well, yes." He dodged her glance and busied himself with Tyler as Bella demanded an audience with Edward; they argued and finally moved into the hall, where the sound of their voices faded from humans' hearing. I but my nails and tensed my legs to spring out the door to help her at a second's notice. I still didn't really trust his control.

**.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.**

**A/N: SO TIRED AGAIN. I have to stop staying up so late!**

**Review!!!**

**Quote: FRIED APPLE PIE IN THE SKY, **_**OH!!!**_** –shouted at 6 flags by my cousin.**

**Fact:** **it is possible to implant gems just under the clear, filmy outer layer of your eyeball.**

**Law****:**** Sunshine is guaranteed. (Cali)**


	19. Demand it

**DISCAIMER: as much as I wish I was, I am NOT Stephenie Meyer, and I own nothing from this story except the Fei and the plot twists.**

**Summary: What if, in the Twilight world, there had been another supernatural race? Namely the Fei? Now they exist, and the twin Fei Guards who befriend Bella might possibly stir up all new enemies… Begins Bella's first day of school, from the Fei's POV's**

**.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.**

"What do you want?" ice dripped from every syllable of Edward's demand. I shivered, and rose to start out the door to the waiting room.

"You owe me an explanation." Bella, in contrast, spoke warmly, gently. It was a strong comparison between them, his cold solidity, and her warm wavering ways.

"I saved your life – I don't owe you anything." He spat out, as if speaking to a werewolf. Here they were, practically in love, and acting like mortal enemies. For the bajillionth time, I rolled my eyes.

"You promised." Next to his resentment, she sounded meek and submissive.

"Bella, you hit your head, you don't know what you're talking about." _You're grabbing straws, Edward, and she knows it._

She replied, Annoyed, "There's nothing wrong with my head."

"What do you want from me, Bella?"

"I want to know the truth. I want to know why I'm lying for you."

"What do you _think_ happened?" he sounded smug, like he'd finally figured out how to best her. Her explanation tumbles out, and I started at how much she saw. _Incredible. _"You think I lifted a van off of you?"

Yikes, too perfect.

"nobody will believe you, you know."

"I'm not going to tell anybody." Atta girl!

"then why does it matter?"

"it matters to me. I don't like lying –" true, I'd noticed that "- so there'd better be a good reason why I'm doing it."

"can't you just thank me and get over it?"

"thank you."

"you're not going to let this go, are you?"

"No."

"Well in that case, I hope you enjoy disappointment." _Idiot!_

"why did you even bother?!" she hissed, enraged.

He paused. "I don't know." His words were soft and vulnerable, and my anger dissolved. Apparently Bella's didn't though, because I heard her stomp to the exit near the end of the hallway. I jogged to catch up to her.

"he means well, you know. If you knew the whole story, all of this would make sense."

"Alright," she still sounded pissed, "tell me then."

Dammit. "it's not my secret to tell. Ask him about it once you two are on speaking terms." I led her to Charlie and melted back into the crowd to avoid more lies. I hated lying to her, but it was necessary. It wasn't right for me to reveal the Cullens – they should be able to decide that on their own.

The rest of the month, and most of the next, passed in a similar fashion. Bella was the star of the school even though she tried to pin the stardom on Edward. He stonily ignored her outwardly, but inside he began to melt away, to start with the _if only_'s. she did the same, or so I guessed, and the result was a very awkward biology classroom. Even Mr. Banner picked up on it; he began to stutter more often. I mindspoke to Edward some days, in-between second guessing my own motives for freeze-out and realizing the same freeze-out was slowly melting. Already it was natural to sit next to Hunter, to pass materials back and forth, to work together on some things. Not a word was spoken, but it got done. The time wore on and on, until one day Bella snapped the loop.

"Hello, Edward." She sat down, watching as he nodded toward her and then looked away again. I asked a nice, cute boy from my art class, Damien, to the Turnabout dance, and he agreed. Jess wound up with Mike, and of course Belita asked Hunter. I finished my painting, too, and had stashed it in a corner of my borrowed room. I started the new one, Aura and I swooping into a battlefield (though I was clad in my full suit and therefore unrecognizable), and was almost halfway done.

"So, Jessica asked me to the dance." Mike said, pulling me from my thoughts of the past.

"That's great," Bella answered, showing me that it wasn't _me_ that mike was addressing. "you'll have a lot of fun with Jessica."

"Well…" he studied her face. "I told her I had to think about it."

"Why would you do that?" she sounded like he'd said he tried to see if he could fly by jumping off his roof. He flushed a violent red and averted his eyes.

"I was wondering if…" he paused to gather courage "…well, if you might be planning to ask me." Edward turned a bit to glance at her, waiting for her answer.

"mike, I think you should tell her yes."

"Did you already ask someone?"

"no, I'm not going to the dance at all."

"Why not?!?" he sounded incredibly shocked and disappointed.

"I'm going to Seattle that Saturday." No, she wasn't. at least not until now.

"Can't you go some other weekend?" he nearly pleaded, desperate to see her in a skimpy dress. I read that right from his mind, the pervert, and almost wretched as I saw him begin to think very…nasty…things about her. And a few other items. And people. I shuddered and wrenched myself from his mind, pouring those images accidentally into Edward's head. His eye twitched; a sign of repressed fury for him.

"Sorry, no. So you shouldn't make jess wait any longer, it's rude." He mumbled something and walked away as Bella dropped her head into her hands to rub her temples. Mr. Banner started talking, but Edward wouldn't stop staring at Bella. He stared and stared, and I tuned them out.

"Bella?" he asked as the bell rang, and I was startled. The tic was gone, though so was Mike.

"What, are you speaking to me again?" she sounded a bit superior, like she was so high above him in the food chain. Literally, it was the other way around.

"no, not really."

"What do you want, Edward?"

"I'm sorry, I'm being very rude, I know. But it's better this way, really."

_Better for whom? _I asked him, annoyed.

_Her._ I snorted mentally, no easy feat.

_Have you _seen_ her? She's coming apart at the seams!_

"I don't know what you mean."

"its better we not be friends." Liar. "Trust me."

She then said the one thing that made me cringe, the worst thing to say.

"maybe you should have figured this out earlier; then you wouldn't have all this regret."

"for what?"

"not letting that stupid van squish me." Ouch, low blow. She turned on her heel and stalked out.

**.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::..::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.**

**A/N: I'm LOOPY I'm LOOPY!!!!!**

**Review plz and…uhh…something.**

**Quote: you're right, she is a bitch. – my mom, speaking to me about a teacher who asked me to break up with my boyfriend.**

**Fact:** **a new method of advertizing includes painting the advertisement on the forehead of a human and paying them to walk around with it on.**

**Law****:**** Catapults may not be fired at buildings. (Aspen, Colorado)**


	20. Author's Note SORRY!

Guys, I am SOOOO sorry. I haven't updated in forever, and it's my fault. I could give you a bunch of lame excuses like "Oh, I didn't have the book and I need it to write" or "I had a massive case of writer's block", which are both true, but the truth Is I forgot all about it until I got a e-mail. I'll try to update soon, but I actually do need the book…

On a brighter note, I'm so excited!! I actually have a second boyfriend!  he's so caring and cool…and crazy like me…and awesome. AND I am now fostering kittens! (if u feel u want to adopt one e-mail me at my yahoo account, screen name Dancemaster475) my mom just got us 2 momma cats who seem very pregnant but I am not so experienced in cat pregnancies…so that's just a guess.

Anyway I WILL update soon, I mean it's not like I don't have enough time lol. I'll take this down when I do, so the numbers stay on track. Because it honestly annoys me when the titles and numbers don't match ;)

XOXO

Zaila DuSundavar


End file.
